Love this town
by SilverCarstairs
Summary: It's been a whole year since Tessa moved to London, but she still can't forget the mysterious blue eyed boy she had a conversation with through the walls of their houses one night. His silver haired friend just adds to the mystery. When Tessa is accepted into the local university, she develops a stronger relationship with the boys next door-the SAME two boys. How can she chose one?
1. She's a Lady

**I GOT AROUND TO UPLOADING! YESS!**

**Disclaimer: Doing this once! I own nought except the plot. No games, songs, singers, places, characters, stores and books mentioned unless otherwise stated!**

**...Oh yeah. Implied Heronstairs a bit, because they are actually my OTP. NO ACTUAL RELATIONSHIP, STRICTLY WESSA/JESSA, but Tessa doesn't exactly want to ask them outright if they are gay or not... MWAHAHAHA...**

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"Tessie?" Nate's voice came from the front of the car.

Tessa looked up from the book she was reading. "Yes?" She snapped at him, but then felt guilty. She shouldn't take her anger out on Nate, but he knew that she didn't like to be disturbed whilst reading.

Nate chuckled silently to himself. "Sorry,_ Lady _Grey." He said, and his laugher increased.

Tessa's scowl deepened. After her aunt Harriet had passed, Tessa had discovered that she was the daughter of _Sir_ Richard Grey. Making Nate her cousin, though she called him a brother and he called her a sister. Their relationship was too close to just be considered cousins.

Tessa had also found out that the Grey house in England had been left to her in her fathers will. With her aunt dead, she and Nate had two choices, the house in London or the streets of New York.

Tessa scowled again. She'd rather face the streets. She left her friends behind. Jace, Clary, Simon, Isabelle, Alec and Magnus. She'd miss them all, and their little quirks. Jace's arrogance, Clary's clumsiness, Simon's random nerd facts, Isabelle's fierceness and Alec's protectiveness. But out of all of them, she'd miss Magnus the most. But one thing she wouldn't miss is the glitter that always ended up in your clothes, hair or house whenever you saw the boy.

Still, New York was a harsh, unforgiving, never-sleeping city. Perhaps she'd be better off in England than on the streets.

And it wasn't just England.

It was _London_.

Wasn't it every girls _dream_ to go to London?

Isabelle was green with jealously (although thinking about it now, it was probably Magnus' glitter) when Tessa had told her she was moving to London and that she'd be attending university there.

_"Oh, you're soo lucky!" Clary had squealed._

_"Just think of the boys! Hey, any fit ones and you give them my number, understand?" Izzy demanded._

_"Hey! What's wrong with me?" Simon said adamantly. *_

_"Well, for starters, you aren't __**me**__." Jace had butted in._

The topic had changed to a daily Jace vs Simon battle, until Isabelle had dragged Clary and Tessa from Java Jones, (a coffee shop Tessa just _hoped_ would be in London) _insisting_ that Tessa needed new clothes.

Tessa clutched the book to her chest. It was _to kill a Mockingbird_, one of her recent favourites. Of course_, a tale of two cities_ was better, but that was currently sitting in the bottom of her overfilling case.

She'd actually never read it before, but she knew her favourite character was Jem. He just had something that the others didn't that just made him more perfect.

"What do you want?" She asked with a sigh, since Nate had finally stopped laughing.

"We're almost there now." Nate told her.

Tessa looked out of the window, her heart fluttering at all the houses they passed. They were so beautiful.

The Grey Mansion was on the edge of London, on the posh estate, but Nate and Tessa had agreed to sell it, and go for something more their style. The Mansion had sold for the grand total of £545,000000, resulting in a very drunk Nate and a bookshelf filled with new books the morning after, Tessa having caved in and bought them.

The average-sized house they now owned was £600,000, meaning that Nate and Tessa had a lot of money left over. Almost five-million, actually.

So Nate wasn't in a hurry to get a job, and neither was Tessa. Still, she would search for one, she'd have to, just in case Nate did something stupid whilst he was…

Nate had a 'gambling issue'. Of course, for this and many other reasons the money had been put into Tessa's account, for both her and Nate knew that she was more responsible.

But she knew Nate would do something stupid, nevertheless.

On the plus-side, she wouldn't have to deal with him, since she'd been accepted into the London Institute.

Tessa didn't know why they couldn't just call it a collage, or a university. Institute just sounded so…

Frightening?

"Wow." Tessa muttered. The houses had immaculate, _green_ gardens. Not dried, yellow grass. The houses had a beautiful red-brick style. She knew they'd be beautiful inside, too. She opened the window slightly, as they passed a rose-filled garden.

A voice could be heard now the window was open. "_Cecily Herondale! That was not funny! What the bloody hell do you think_-"

"Nice to know we have quiet neighbours." Nate muttered, closing the window, blotting out the voice.

"Who says bloody hell nowadays?" Tessa asked.

"British people. We will also have to drink tea and eat scones every morning, and have fish and chips every night for dinner." Nate informed her, in a serious voice.

"Really? I think Jace used to live in England, judging by his accent.* He must have been in hell, he can't _stand_ tea." Tessa mused to herself. England had been interesting. First Nate had to realise that he was supposed to be driving on the other side of the road, and next they had to quickly learn what a roundabout was. (Tessa had realised it was a traffic circle, and she remembered what aunt Harriet had done once when she'd come across one in a road, and told Nate to 'give way'.)

Nate had quickly stopped at a house almost at the end of the road. He turned up the small drive, and parked the car just outside the garage.

Tessa got out of the car, looking around, still not able to believe the greenness of the grass.

"_James! Are you not even going to back me up on this, since these were supposedly your things?!"_ The same voice from earlier came, from the house that was next door to them. As in, semi-detached-next-door to them.

The door was wide open, which was probably the reason Tessa had heard him. But still, she had to give the man credit. He could shout, and well.

Nate was currently struggling with the keys. Tessa silently thanked the fact Nate had paid extra money to have interior designers put in all the furniture. It meant less work for them, and the furniture would probably look beautiful. He finally got the door open, and Tessa walked inside.

It _was_ beautiful. They were in a sort of porch that was empty, with dark flooring and rose patterned wallpaper. There was a small, rounded table in the centre of the large porch, with a white vase and red roses in it. To the side, there were hooks for coats and racks for shoes.

"By the angel." Tessa breathed, as Nate swung open the porch door, to reveal the actual house.

Yet again, it was old-fashioned, almost Victorian-like. With dark, comfortable armchairs by the fire, and…

Books. Bookshelves lined the long walls of the living room, with titles Tessa either knew or didn't.

"What do you think?" Nate asked her.

"That I wish we lived here before I did my Victorian project in third-grade." Tessa told him.

Nate laughed and threw himself in one of the armchairs.

"Can I call the bedrooms?" She asked, already walking up the staircase.

"Do whatever. I'll be going out tonight, you'll have to find something for tea yourself." Nate called back.

Tessa rolled his eyes at his words, attempting to lug her case up the stairs behind her.

* * *

**A/N: Now then. If any of you lovelies happen to be English, I know we don't have Tea and scones in the morning, and Fish and chips every night, but I was attempting a stereotyped English person.**

**A/N2: My American readers! (And any of you that aren't British) I'm sure 90% of you don't think that British people are like that. (For the record, we aren't) But anyway, I wanted to set out a stereotype because it was fun to write. **

**A/N3: How many of you guessed who Tessa's neighbour is?**

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*1: We'll see the progression of Sizzy throughout the fic. And if you haven't read TMI, there won't be spoilers! The TMI people just aren't frequent enough in the story to make it a crossover, but Tessa does skype them regularly.

*2: Jace used to live in Idris in TMI. Loads of people forget, but Clary does say he has a British accent underlying the American one. So yeah. Just a bit more fun for the story!


	2. Complicated

**An annoyingly early update, but this fic was on the bottom of the first page on the fanfiction list, and I like mine to be at the top. So yeah...Anyway!**

**PERSONALLY, I AM NOT A FAN OF AVRIL LAVIGNE!**

**I chose her to be Tessa's favourite singer because ****_Complicated_**** is an extremely relevant song to Will, which he expresses strongly in this chapter. Ok, that's enough talk from me! Bye!**

* * *

Tessa lay on her bed, eating the takeaway Pizza she'd ordered. It was something called Scoozies*, something that Tessa hadn't heard about whilst in America.

She was absent-mindly doodling, despite the fact it was almost midnight and she had to go to University tomorrow for the open day.

Her ears immediately tuned into the song playing on her iPod dock.

_Chill out, what you yellin' for?_

_Lay back, it's all been done before_

_And if you could only let it be_

_You will see_

_I like you the way you are_

_When we're drivin' in your car_

_And you're talking to me one on one_

_But you've become..._

Complicated, Avril Lavigne. She turned the volume up, so it was on 60%.

_Somebody else 'round everyone else_

_You're watching your back like you can't relax_

_You're tryin' to be cool_

_You look like a fool to me_

_Tell me_

Tessa turned it onto full volume.

_Why do you have to go and make things so complicated?_

_I see the way you're acting like you're somebody else_

_Gets me frustrated_

_Life's like this-_

Tessa paused it when she heard the banging on the wall.

"Can you please change that song to one that isn't _extremely_ relevant to the argument I'm having with _insufferable_ family members?" A voice yelled, muffled slightly between the wall of Tessa's bedroom and whatever room the boy who yelled that was currently in.

She smiled slightly. That was the boy who was yelling earlier.

"Sorry!" She called back. How the song was relevant to his life, she would never know.

"Wait, _Jordan_? I was wondering why the hell you were listening to Avril Lavigne, but now I'm more interested as to why you are suddenly a girl." The boy called back.

Tessa snorted. "Sorry, I think that whoever Jordan was must have moved out. I moved in today."

"And what an excellent impression you are making on us, by playing Avril Lavigne at full volume."

"And what songs would you suggest?"

"Well, if you _have_ to play Avril Lavigne, how about you play _what the hell_?"

"Isn't that just her singing about how she wants to be a whore?"

"Isn't that what all the best songs are about?" He replied back sarcastically.

Tessa sighed. Just when she thought he was a nice person, as well. Tessa didn't call herself a feminist, but remarks like that did make her drop her respect for him.

"Gotta go, looks like my yelling gave away my hiding place." He called again.

"You think?" She called back.

"I think many things, mostly about how stunning I am, so I don't have time to consider other things."

_Jace_? Tessa thought, shocked. _No, it couldn't be, Jace had a slight American accent, and this boy was definitely English, with a hint of something else_.

_But it _did_ seem like such a Jace-thing to say._

Tessa stood up and opened her window.

"Oh, then I simply cannot wait to meet you. Though if I faint at the sight of your looks, please, do not mistake it for awe. It will most likely be horror." She said sarcastically.

"Rude." The voice came again.

"_William_ _Herondale_!" Another voice yelled, also males, but deeper, older.

Tessa concentrated on her music, not wanting to hear the argument that the boy would be having with the man that was presumably his father.

It worked, she forgot about the boy and the argument, until about fifteen minutes later, when she shut off her music, wanting to go to sleep. Nate still wasn't in.

Tessa went to close her curtains, but stopped when she saw the door of the other side of the semi-detached house opened. Curiosity getting the better of her, she saw a young man, possibly about her age, storming out of the house.

"_Where do you think you are going, William? Are you forgetting you are_ grounded?" The older male yelled.

The boy he had called William laughed, and Tessa realised it was the boy who Tessa had been 'talking' with earlier.

"And you're going to try and stop me, Henry?" He asked coldly.

"James? Can you be of some help here?" The man, who Tessa presumed was Henry, yelled.

"Don't wake him up!" Will told him. "Why the hell do you need to? He can't get to sleep as it is-"

"Will." Another boy stepped out the house. Tessa guessed this must be James. He seemed as old as Will, which struck her as odd, Tessa had thought Will had been talking about a child.

Will turned around, facing back towards the house, towards the boy who had stopped walking towards him.

Tessa silently praised streetlamps, so she could at least see the figures, if not the people.

"Where are you going?" He asked it calmly, as a normal question.

Will shrugged.

"The pubs will be shut by now." The boy said, his tone amused.

"Yes, but 24-7 shops aren't and they sell drinks, at cheaper rates than pubs too. I see no problem." Will shot back, his voice still raised.

The door from the house across from them opened. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE ANGEL ARE YOU ROARING ABOUT THIS LATE AT NIGHT?" A middle aged man demanded.

"Sorry, Mr Lightwood, we were simply trying to get Will indoors." Henry told him.

Mr Lightwood huffed.

_Lightwood? As in, Izzy and Alec Lightwood? _Tessa thought.

"And it's currently 12:07. That means its morning, not night." Will added unhelpfully.

"If you have nothing useful to say, don't say it." Mr Lightwood growled.

"Apologies, Mr _Lightworm_. I was merely teaching you the concept of time, that's all." Will said, before walking calmly over to the car, and spotted Tessa.

"James, see that? Neighbours. People who actually _do_ sleep. That means you'll have to stop your habit of playing your music at one AM in the morning." He then got in the car, and drove off.

_He better not be in to rock music_… Tessa thought threateningly.

"I'll wait up." James offered, once Will was gone.

"But you have to go in the morning." Henry protested.

James shrugged. "I'll manage."

He walked inside, and the door shut, making Tessa think Henry had been stood in the porch.

Mr Lightwood went back inside his house as well.

Tessa closed the curtains, frowning.

She'd be lying if she said her first day in London wasn't eventful.

* * *

**Scoozies pizza is nicer than dominoes. Yeah, I went there. Honestly, if there is a scoozies near you, GET A PIZZA FROM THERE!**

**Expect an update from me about Monday, but, as always, Reviews/Follows/Favourites encourage me to update!**


	3. Umberella

"Izzy! Clary!" Tessa said excitedly.

God, she was happy she had Skype.

"Is that Tessa? Is she picking up?" A distant voice came. Simon's.

"Hey, it's six in the morning here." Tessa complained. "Not my fault I don't pick up at half two in the morning."

"Technically, it is." Jace's voice came, he too wasn't in view of the camera.

Tessa smiled.

She saw Izzy bend down and heard Jaces cry of pain a few moment later.

"And that, Tessa, is why you wear heels." Izzy said.

Tessa laughed, knowing Izzy had thrown her shoe at Jace.

"Iz, I've got _literally_ twenty seconds. I-" Tessa started, yet broke off as everyone's laughter became too loud. "What?" She asked.

"Say literally again." Simon chuckled.

"Literally." Tessa told them, puzzled, glancing out of the window to see the rain beating down on the window. _Great_, she thought.

Everyone laughed again.

"Aw, no way girl! You've not even been in Britain for not even twenty-four hours, and you've already picked up the accent!" Jace howled.

Tessa shook her head, just as her phone went off.

_Tessie, if you want me to drive you, you have one minute to get into the car or I'm not taking you :_P

Tessa sighed at her brother's text.

_Hang on. Xx. _She replied. "Guys, gotta go, I'll Skype you once I'm out of the Uni meet-and-greet, alright?"

Izzy pouted. "Fine."

Simon came into view on camera. "Hey, Tessa, forgot to tell you. Millennium Lint got a gig!" He called.

Tessa laughed. "You still called that? Oh, and congrats by the way!"

Simon frowned. "Actually, we're called Dangerous stain."

Tessa shook her head. "I really do have to go." As she went to press _end_ _call_, she yelled "ARE YOU AND IZZY TOGETHER YET?" And ended the call.

Grinning, she made her way down the stairs, grabbing an umberella as she did so.

Her phone buzzed. Fishing it out of her pocket, she laughed when she saw the call was from Izzy, and put it on loudspeaker, just as she shoved open the front door and stumbled outside, attempting to open the umberella.

"_Theresa Gray, I'm going to kill you. And then invite all the fit boys from your Uni to your funeral. And then I'll kill you. Again. And throw a massive party afterwards. Which you won't be invited to, considering the fact you'll be _dead." Izzy's voice boomed through the phone.

She heard laughter, and turned to see two boys laughing at her. Two, might Tessa add, incredibly good looking guys that Izzy wouldn't hesitate in inviting.

"Tell her its fine by me, so long as the funeral song isn't by Avril Lavigne!" The blue eyed one yelled, literally throwing his case into his car, before winking at her as he the other boy went inside the house.

Tessa snorted. _He must be the one I talked to last night_, she thought.

"_Wait, who's that? Tessa, do you have a _boyfriend_? OH MY GOD! GUYS, I THINK TESSA HAS A BOYFRIEND!"_ Izzy yelled.

Tessa laughed. "Sorry Izzy, he's just a neighbour."

"_Yeah, a neighbour round at your house at 6 AM in the morning?_" Izzy asked suggestively.

"IZZY!" Tessa exclaimed loudly. "He was packing his car, as was I!"

Izzy laughed. "_Sure_." The silence was bliss before she spoke again. "_But he's _British_. If he's single and you don't do anything about it, I will personally come over to Britain and kick your ass." _Izzy threatened_._

"You won't be able to, I'll be dead. You're killing me, remember?" Tessa pointed out.

"_Fair point. I'll kick your ass, _then_ I'll kill you_." Izzy threatened again.

Tessa laughed. "I have to go, I want to live my life _before_ you kill me." Tessa said. "Bye, Izzy." She hung up, just as Izzy began to protest.

"Wait, you're... coming with me?" one of the boys asked the other, as the two boys stepped out of the house again.

"Yes." The black haired one said, dragging another case to their car.

The silver haired one sighed, and went back into their house.

"Where you going?" The black haired one asked him.

"To throw water on myself to find out whether I'm dreaming!" Came the boy's faint reply.

The black haired boy flashed a grin, slamming the car boot shut.

He went into the house after the silver haired boy.

Nate came out of the house. "Are we going?"

Tessa nodded, before she sighed.

"What's up?" Nate asked her.

"The sky." Tessa muttered sarcastically, before she replied honestly. "I don't see the point of going to a mock lecture today, can I not just skip it? Classes aren't for another few months!"

Nate looked shocked. "Theresa Gray? Wanting to skip classes?" He put a hand on his heart. "And no, you can't. It's a meet-and-greet, where you have to _meet_ people."

_Technically, it's an open day_, Tessa corrected mentally.

"I don't want to meet everyone. If Uni is anything like Simon's sister told me, I am not going to the meet-and-greet. It'll mean people see me and get to know me. It'll mean I'll be peer-pressured into going to parties, and getting drunk and…" She thought of how to word it. "Get all too friendly with people I wouldn't want to be friendly with. Especially boys."

Nate snorted at her for being uncomfortable. "So Theresa. I was woken up at half five in the morning for you to tell me you don't want to go. Your reason being…"

"I'm jetlagged. Very badly." Tessa said quickly.

Nate sighed. "I'm going to bed." He disappeared inside the house.

"Are you telling me that if you get your way, we are going to be staying in America for a few months until term starts?" The silver haired boy asked the other, emerging from their house with two cases; an instrument case and normal luggage case.

Tessa's heart gave a strain at the word America. She already missed it.

"Yep." The black haired boy said, he too coming out of the door, carrying a small wooden box in his hands, shaking his wet (and curling) hair.

"Will, I hate arguing with you. And all these years, I've been on your side when someone has said you're mad. But you really are _insane_." The boy told him, placing his cases in the car with care.

"No I'm not." He saw Tessa, and grinned. "I'm just a _complicated_ person."

The silver boy rolled his eyes, taking the box from Will, and placing it on the front seat of the car.

"_What the hell_?" Tessa asked him, attempting to put her phone in her pocket and balance the umberella so she didn't get wet at the same time.

"Sorry, it only happens when _I'm with you_." He replied.

Tessa grinned. She'd done this before with Jace. And won. "God, there are so many _things I'll never say_ to you, even if I want to."

He smirked. "I can guess one of them. That you think I'm _hot_."

By this point, the silver haired boy had gone back inside, shaking his head.

"No I don't. I think you have a _bad reputation_." Tessa replied. Evidently, this boy knew he was good looking. He really was Jace… but British.

The boy looked thoughtful. "So judgemental. Oh_, how you remind me_ of my ex."

"Oh really?" Tessa asked. "Was she your _girlfriend_?"

"Yes. But she was a bitch, so I _slipped away_." He said, pushing the hair from his startling blue eyes.

Tessa paused, thinking. "You should visit her _tomorrow_."

"I would, but she's dating a _Sk8er Boi_." He said with a sigh.

Tessa bit her lip. He was good at this. "Yeah, well. _Everybody hurts_."

There was silence for about five seconds. "Everyone but _Alice_." He said, smiling.

_He has a nice smile_, _much nicer than his smirk, _Tessa noticed. That's when it came to her. "Let me guess, she has pretty _smile_?"

"Yep. That's the _best damn thing_ about her." Will said immediately, smirking again.

Tessa was now looking at all the little things about him. She couldn't help it, it was easy to get lost in the deep violet-blue of his eyes, the darkness of his hair. _Wait. No one has black hair. That has to be dyed, _Tessa thought.

Will mimed looking at his watch.

"Is your hair dyed? It's like a _black_ _star_." Tessa shot at him. Not her best, but it was still acceptable judging by the nod of his head.

He grinned. "_I will be_ completely honest and say that it isn't dyed."

Tessa shook her head, thinking. The boy looked at his watch again. "I'm _losing grip_ on this, I can't think of any more songs."

The boy's grin broadened. "You could always _runaway_ from this conversation."

"But where to? _Nobody's home_ right now." Tessa said, gesturing to her house.

"Then don't leave. The game will be over _when you're gone_."

_Crap_. Tessa thought_. There are literally no more songs I know. Except from three more_. "We could always make _my happy ending_ happen, and you could let me win."

His eyes narrowed slightly, but there was humour in his expression. "Your _innocence_ is a lie! You're asking me to give up!"

_Oh no. The only other song I know is _I love you, Tessa thought. _He took innocence_, _my second-to-last song._

"Um…" She started.

He grinned again.

She threw her hands up in exasperation, and went to walk off, not wanting to say anything.

"_Goodbye_ then! _Wish you were here_!"

Tessa made a displeased noise, and turned around. "Fine! You win!"

His grin broadened. "Thanking you." He said, giving a mock bow before he sprinted inside the house. "JEEEEMMMMM! WE CAN GO NOW! I WONNN!" He yelled.

Tessa walked back to the house, hearing the silver boy's words. "You aren't going to shut up about her, are you?" He asked, not knowing Tessa was in earshot.

She went to close the umberella, having stepped inside.

"You do know I heard that, right?" The black haired boy's voice came.

"I know you did. And you know I'm right." The silver haired boy replied.

Tessa shut the door, vague thoughts of learning every Avril Lavigne track of-by-heart for the next time she ran into her neighbour.

* * *

**It wouldn't be Britain (or England) without rain, now would it? Plus, I had to put the rain because I couldn't think of a song name for this chapter, which only _Disneyinmyblood4_ noticed (the songs)!**

**Yes, all the chapters, and in fact the name of this fic, are all songs. Most of them have no meaning to me, and are only their because they fit the contents of the chapter, but I wanted my chapters to give away the smallest hints about what the chapter contains (hence the rain) but bear no meaning to the actual plot.**

_**SO DON'T THINK OF THE LYRICS PLEASE! I'M ONLY USING THE TITLES, THE SONG ISN'T ABOUT THE CHAPTER, JUST THE TITLE!**_


	4. The boys

**PLEASE NOTE THAT I HAVE MADE THE UNIVERSITY HALLS OF RESIDENCE A LOT FANCIER THAN THEY SHOULD BE! THEY HAVE COOKERS, FOR EXAMPLE!**

**Oh, and the official update day is Monday, though I may be generous sometimes and upload earlier! :) **

**Oh oh, and there is a REALLY important A/N at the end!**

**Oh oh oh, I was asked to make my chapters longer. My chapters are typically 1500-2500 words long, depending on how much I have to write. This chapter is around 3,200 words, but I NEVER post a chapter unless it's over 1000 words. But I'll strive to make them longer!**

* * *

Seven months later.

**X**

"Oof." Tessa said, collapsing on the stiff mattress of the Murphy bed.

She'd had a rough day. Firstly, Nate was too hung-over to drive her to the university, so she'd had to take at least three buses. Secondly, it was snowing. Thirdly, the university dorms didn't have a lift, only numerous flights of stairs. Fourthly, it had taken her three hours to clean her dorm (That was on the top floor) and then another two hours to unpack.

She went to plug her iPod into the dock she'd brought with her and froze when it started playing Avril Lavigne.

She smiled when she thought of the mysterious neighbour who'd expressed a hate in Avril Lavigne through the walls of their houses, yet could recite all the song names from all her albums the next day. The boy who'd yelled about how he would be drinking to a man who was presumably his father, and then was up at 6AM the next day and seemed fine facing the sun. Nate hadn't been like that in the mornings. The boy who had been a (personality-wise) copy of Jace.

She sighed when the chorus of the song came on.

_Somebody else 'round everyone else_

_You're watching your back like you can't relax_

_You're tryin' to be cool_

_You look like a fool to me_

_Tell me_

Tessa shrugged, then turned it onto full volume.

_Why do you have to go and make things so complicated?_

_I see the way you're acting like you're somebody else_

_Gets me frustrated-_

There was a banging on her wall.

"Do _all_ you Britain's hate Avril Lavigne? This is the _second_ time that this has happened to me_, with this song!_ I swear to god that you all must have a terrible taste in music!" She yelled.

She heard laughter.

"If you must play Avril Lavigne, which it appears all American girls must, then please put on _what the hell_. Even if you think the song is about her prostituting herself." The boy's voice yelled.

The voice that was extraordinarily familiar to her.

She put on _what the hell_.

"Happy?" She yelled, her heart buzzing. _It can't be the same guy. That's impossible_, she thought.

"No, I'm not. I've been found by the same girl who revealed my first hiding place seven months ago." The voice replied, sounding sulky.

Tessa grinned. "Poor you. Although, to be honest, it's your own fault for talking through a wall."

She heard laughter again. "Very well. Come over and we'll talk face-to-face." The voice came.

"Er, sorry. 'Stranger Danger'?" Tessa yelled, walking to the door.

"Ah, but an incredibly handsome stranger, nevertheless." The voice sighed.

_Definitely the same boy_, Tessa thought.

She walked out into the hall. There was a door to her left, and a cupboard to her right. She held her breath, and knocked on the door.

The door opened, to reveal the blue eyed, black haired stranger leaning lazily on the doorframe. Tessa also smelt possibly the most delicious smell in the world-

Chinese food.

"Hullo." He said.

Tessa grinned. "Hello. Do I know you?"

He grinned, and stretched out his hand. "William Herondale, preferably Will. Devilishly handsome, devoted Avril Lavigne hater, learns album and song titles to confuse fans." He said with a wink.

Tessa took his hand, and shook it. "Tessa Gray, call me Theresa and I will kill you. I'm from America, don't all you Britain's believe we own guns?"

"Actually no, we believe you just eat hamburgers for every meal. Still, I think I can believe you can handle a gun. You just _look_ like a-" He broke off, and looked into the apartment. "WHAT'S THE THING YOU CALLED ME?" He yelled.

A word Tessa had never heard before followed. It was said in an enchanting way, a twist to the vowels, and a fall to the consonants. "_Yángguǐzi_."

Will heard it and turned back to Tessa, grinning at her confused expression. "Foreign devil." He translated for her.

Tessa rolled her eyes. "Well, if we're going for stereotypes, _I_ was under the impression that British people just ordered takeaway fish and chips every night, but apparently I was wrong. You order Chinese, as well."

Will placed a hand on his heart, and looked at her with shock.

"What?" She asked.

"Jem, she thinks we ordered dinner!" He yelled inside the apartment.

She heard laughter again. "Technically, you did. _You_ ordered _me_ to make it. In fact, your exact words were- 'Jem, I'm British, so I'll make the Christmas dinners. You however, _have_ to make the Chinese dishes, since I'm broke but I want a takeaway style food'."

Tessa snorted, and Will shrugged. "What? If we just had something microwavable for dinner, we wouldn't be utilising your foreign skills." He called into the apartment. **_*(_****Please read the A/N at the end of the story, it's short but VERY important)**

"You mean the fact I can cook Chinese." The voice came again, with amusement.

"Yes. Yes I do. And anyway, I'll make Christmas dinner, as promised!"

"No you won't. Last time that happened, you overcooked the turkey, and the vegetables were raw."

Will shrugged again. "What can I say? I'm Welsh, not English."

She heard a snort.

Will frowned. "Jem, at least I'm a better cook than you."

"I doubt that. In fact, I _know_ that, judging from last Christmas."

"It's easier to make to make water-chestnut cake than it is to prepare the main course." Will snapped, as Tessa started laughing.

Jem appeared. "I think we can settle this. Tessa, will you join us for dinner? That way, I can prove Will that he cannot cook."

"How would she know until she tasted my fine cuisine?" Will asked him.

"Make dessert. And whilst you're at it, since you forced me to make a Chinese main, you can make Welsh dessert." Jem said with a grin, pointing a spatula at him mock-threateningly.

Tessa frowned slightly when she saw him. His hair was a deep ebony colour, not black like Wills, because when it hit the light it was dark brown. His eyes were deep brown, with bronze flecks in them. His tanned skin and almond eyes hinted at an Asian heritage.

"Didn't your hair used to be silver?" She asked him. _And your eyes. And your skin was almost white_, she thought.

Jem shrugged. "Will dared me to have silver hair for at least a year."

Tessa smiled. "Did you get him back?"

Jem sighed. "I was considering making him cook for the year, but that would involve food poisoning and a very unappetising looking stew."

"Fine, so I can't cook stew. That doesn't mean I can't cook dessert!" Will's voice came from the apartment.

Tessa snorted again.

"I didn't introduce myself. I'm James Carstairs, but please call me Jem." He said.

Tessa grinned, her thoughts suddenly filled with a _certain_ book character. He didn't look like Jeremy, but if only his personality was the same... though perhaps it was for the best that it wasn't.

He smiled, seeming to put his whole self into it. "You've read to kill a mockingbird, haven't you?" He asked her knowingly.

Tessa felt the blush come to her cheeks. "How did-"

"Your reaction. It was the same as Will's when he read the book and began to call me Jem. Once I told him I hadn't ever read it, he forced the book down in front of me and told me to read it otherwise he'd break my violin." He grinned. "You didn't tell me your name." He pointed out.

"I'm Tessa Gray, which I'm pretty sure you already know." She said.

"I'll pretend I didn't for introduction purposes." He said, stepping aside to let her in.

"Are you sure it isn't a problem, me staying?" She asked.

"Not at all. If anything it's useful, you can help shut Will up." He said, rolling his eyes.

They both seemed different from the boys Tessa met a month ago. Jem seemed more outspoken and Will seemed politer, less rude. Also, there was the lack of silver on Jem's behalf. Tessa did not believe him about the dye.

"What are you taking here?" She asked Jem and Will, who was rifling through the cupboards.

"English Literature and English Language. A subject of which I am extraordinarily good at." Came Will's muffled voice.

"Music." Jem informed her.

Tessa smiled. "I'm taking same as Will."

There was a crash, as Will knocked the shelf down.

Jem stifled his laughter. "Thank goodness I talked you out of taking handiwork." He sighed.

_Thank goodness? Do British people say that? _Tessa wondered_._

"Nope, just Jem." Will said, shoving the shelf roughly in its position.

_Damnit, I spoke out loud_. Tessa cursed herself.

Jem threw a spice bottle at Will that had landed on the floor.

"I came from Shanghai." He explained. "My father knew English, and taught it me, but I never bothered learning all the, for lack of a better word, 'slang' used by any native speaker."

"I'm not a native speaker, yet I use them." Will commented, putting the spice bottle on the shelf.

"Yes, I know. You speak Welsh, and are amazing at it. Well done, William." Jem sighed.

"Diolch." Will commented.

"What?" Tessa asked.

Jem looked thoughtful. "He either said thank-you or please."

"I'm inclined to guess thank-you." Tessa added.

"Yes, but its Will. He isn't 100% sane." Jem told her.

"I'm in the room! I can hear you!" Will argued.

Jem grinned. "I know. That was the general idea."

Will vaulted over the sofa and sat down on it, gesturing for Tessa to join him.

Jem passed Tessa a plate of food, and proceeded to pick up the remaining two, alongside some cutlery.

"Tessa, do you take chopsticks or cutlery?" Jem asked.

"Cutlery. Last time I tried chopsticks, my friend Clary ended up with a black eye." Tessa explained, sitting down.

"I'll take chopsticks!" Will said happily.

Jem smiled. "Really? Then this will be interesting."

He passed a knife and fork to Tessa, and threw the chopsticks to Will, who caught them easily and one-handed. Tessa tried to look unimpressed, but by Will's smirk, he'd noticed.

They all sat down on the sofa, and Tessa watched Jem in awe as he positioned the chopsticks and began to eat.

"How do you do that?" Tessa asked him after a moment.

He smiled, swallowing before he answered. "I'm from China." He explained. "If we're going for stereotypes, you might as well believe that all Chinese people know how to use chopsticks."

Will scowled. "He can eat _rice_ _krispies_ with chopsticks, I've seen him."

Tessa looked at him with awe again.

Jem started laughing.

"How? That's- that's-" She asked.

"Every year, me and Will alternate in daring each other, with a dare that has to last the year. When I was ten, Will dared me to eat with chopsticks instead of cutlery for every meal when possible."

"A task that he managed suspiciously easily." Will said, scowling as the chopsticks slipped from his hand.

Will was evidently struggling with him chopsticks. Jem and Tessa watched him in amusement for about two minutes, before he gave up and went to get a fork.

Jem grinned again. Will threw his chopsticks at Jem, but he missed.

"Shut up. You know what they say. Cutlery maketh the man." Will said.

Tessa snorted, and Jem smiled. "Oh, absolutely William. Absolutely." He said.

Tessa jumped when her phone started ringing. "Do you mind if I-"

Will and Jem started laughing. "You really don't know anything about British people, do you? We aren't going to label you as improper for answering your phone." Will snorted.

Tessa glared at him, answering her phone. "Hello?"

Jem and Will emerged themselves in conversation. Tessa thanked them in her mind, she was a self-conscious person.

"_Did you delete my number? You didn't do the greeting_!" Clary's voice came.

Tessa put on a British accent. "Oh, of course. British people _do not_ talk with _Americans_. All hamburger eating, gun-wielding maniacs, the lot of them."

"_Oh my God! That was the _best_ British accent _ever!" Clary said, laughing.

Will and Jem broke off from their conversation and started laughing. "Tell me that wasn't meant to be an English accent." Will begged her.

"Apologies, _Mr_ _Herondale_. I haven't heard an English accent in a while, please note I have been stuck with you and Jem."

Jem and Will grinned. "Then you must have had the dickens charmed out of you, my accent has been described as charming, literate and-"

"Incredibly annoying?" Jem suggested, making Tessa laugh and Will scowl.

"_Oh my god. You've already found an English Jace!"_ Clary's voice came.

"No, he's from Wales. Sorry, Clary." Tessa sighed.

"_Fine, whatever. You come across any other British versions of us yet_?" Clary asked, sounding eager.

"Um, I don't think so-" Tessa started, but then remembered Mr Lightwood. "Wait, I know a Lightwood. Are Izzy and/or Alec with you?"

"_Yep, hang on. IZZY! IT'S TESSA_!" Clary yelled, just as Will made a muffled '_ow'_ sound.

Tessa looked curiously at him.

"William, the man is not a Lightworm, as he reminds you on a daily basis." Jem sighed.

"Not at all, James. It's not my fault forgets his surname, meaning I must remind him." Will replied.

"_Yo_." Izzy's voice came.

"Hey! Odd question, but do you have cousins in Britain? Long story, but I met a Mr Lightwood a while back…" Tessa started.

"Lightwood? That- You- Tessa, are you talking to a Lightworm?" Will asked incredulously.

Jem shook his head. "Will. You had a dessert to make, didn't you? Besides, please don't go around insulting people you don't know."

"-_so I'll ask Alec later, kay_?" Izzy said.

"Wait, what?" Tessa asked, feeling guilty she hadn't been listening. "Um, bad signal, sorry."

"DON'T LIE, THERESA, YOU WERE DISTRACTED BY MY RATHER CHARMING SELF." Will bellowed from the kitchen.

Jem then threw a plate at him.

Tessa frowned as Will caught it without turning around. "I did warn you that if you called me that I would _SHOOT YOU_, remember?" She yelled back.

"_Wait, what time is it in Britain now_?" Izzy asked her.

"Um, hang on." Tessa told Izzy. "Jem, what time is it?"

Jem gestured to the clock on the wall, but answered anyway. "Ten past six."

"Thanks." She said. "Ten past six, why?"

Izzy gave a sequel. _"Perfect date time_! _As soon as you get home, you call me and tell me all about it. Gotta go hun, sorry."_

"No, Izzy! This isn't a-" Tessa began, before the line went dead.

But not before she heard a "–_Clary! Tessa's on a date_!"

Tessa sighed, but it turned into a scream at the bang that sounded.

She and Jem turned around to see a cursing Will and a lot of smoke.

Jem started laughing.

Tessa was worried, but upon seeing Jem laugh, she began to laugh too, as a Will with disarrayed hair and a blackened face emerged from the smoke.

"Will, what were you even trying to cook?" Jem spluttered in between his laughter.

Will scowled. "Custard."

Jem raised an eyebrow, and Tessa grinned, making a note to tell Clary someone else could do it.

"Custard isn't Welsh food." Tessa pointed out.

"Good point. But by the angel, what did you do? It isn't that hard to make custard-" Jem broke off, shaking his head, and went into the kitchen-part of the room.

Jem leaned up and opened something, something Tessa couldn't see due to the excess amount of smoke that poured out.

"Firstly, Will, putting a tin of custard into the microwave is _not_ _cooking_. Secondly, you _do not_ put _tins_ in the microwave!" Jem laughed.

Tessa snorted. "I judge Jem to be the better cook. Since his food was actually edible." She said, as Jem emerged, holding a custard covered tin.

Jem smirked as he threw the tin into a bin. "William, as loser, you must clean out the custard-covered microwave. I'm also banning you from cooking. For life."

Will scowled.

Tessa grinned again. "Do you want some help?"

"Ye-" Will began.

Jem looked shocked. "No, we don't. You're our _guest_." He said, putting emphasis on the last word.

Tessa smiled. "In New York, we make the guest clean up, since they are the one eating a free meal."

Jem copied her smile. "Here, we make Will clean up, since he doesn't do the cooking."

"So, you'll be living off Chinese food for the rest of the year?" Tessa asked.

Jem grinned. "I can cook more than Chinese food, Tessa. In fact, I'll guess that what I prepare will be edible, so long as Will doesn't help me make it." **_*_**

"Well, if tonight was anything to go by, I may just come round every night for tea." Tessa said, smiling.

"As long as you bring dessert. Chinese desserts are horrible, and Jem doesn't like instant cake mix powder." Will's voice came amidst the smoke that was slowly making its way out of the window Jem had opened.

Jem rolled his eyes. "Yet again, I know how to cook other foods, Will. They don't _have to be Chinese_!" He called.

Tessa heard Will's laughter.

"But like I said, then we wouldn't be utilising your foreign advantages." Will called. "Plus, I want to know who the better cook is, me or Tessa."

"Tessa. Definitely Tessa." Jem said quickly, sounding, or was Tessa imagining it, worried? "You're refusing to acknowledge the fact you cannot cook."

"Ah, but has Tessa acknowledged whether she can cook or not?" Will said, with voice filled with mystery.

Jem snorted.

Tessa grinned, as her phone went off again. She looked at it. "Guess that's my cue to leave."

Jem said goodbye, and Will yelled that he'll actually have to clean up the microwave _when you're gone_.

Tessa sighed. "You've said that song already!" She yelled, noticing that she'd missed the call.

"I'll keep trying."

"You do that. Whilst you're thinking, I'll go." Tessa called, saying bye to Jem again.

* * *

***- Important A/N: Throughout this story, I will be referring quite a lot to their races, which is very noticeable in this chapter. I would like to tell you that this IS NOT RACIST, just in case anyone thought it was. One of my friends is from America. If she (Hi Alex, btw) orders a burger, whilst we're out, we all sigh and go 'typical American', and she'll **_laugh_**. Every now and then, our 'typical Yorkshire' friends will mock the odd word me or Alex say, and **_it's not racist_**! We wouldn't be normal human beings if we didn't. Racism is different to just fooling about. This is exactly what the TID people do in this fic. Fool about. Stereotype the others. **

**Just clearing it up in case you think it's racist. It's not. It really isn't! Ok, I think this got too serious for me!**

**Bye now! See you next year! (I couldn't help myself!)**

**...Though I not because Sherlock episode and THAT TRAILER!**


	5. Never gonna happen

**Review responses which I will now begin to do! Shock horror! Starting from reviews in the last chapter!**

**Fify- A) Thank-you for finding the story beautiful! B) I just really didn't want someone to get offended! C) IT IS OFFICIALLY MONDAY! UPDATE TIME!**

**(GUEST) Tid_Shadowhunter- A) I tend to make a hissing sound when I restrain laughter! B) I am determined to not abandon this story! C) Thanks! I really wanted to make a humour fic to see if I could! Evidently I can!**

**Cferrer- A) Thank you for liking it! B) I think everyone orders burgers when they go out! (except me, I'm a vegetarian after reading the fault in our stars. I also have eggs for dinner.) C) If all people were like stereotypes I would just find the whole thing hilarious!**

**(GUEST) YourBestieAlex- A) No. For those who don't know what I'm on about, read the review!**

_Ok, first up, my accent is brilliant and you, little Britain, are just jealous. Second thing up: more TMI characters. Third thing up: Hey El, by the way! Fourth thing up: check your MI/ID crossover for my review, which stands here. Malec, or I spread this fic like mad. Heads up: School in two days! And it's Baseball in sport, remember! (gotta heart me some baseball, you know, since I'm from America and all that_)

**First up, ****_Bestie_****, I am not jealous of your accent. Secondly, I AM NOT LITTLE YOU ARE JUST FREAKISHLY TALL. Thirdly, never call me 'El' again. Fourthly, babe, I am not resisting the Malec! Magnus is in TID, so he is of course in this fic! He's in this chapter! Fifthly, Yay. Gotta heart me some school. You sounded over excited. Sixthly, IT IS NOT BASEBALL IT IS ROUNDERS BUT YES, WE SHALL SING HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL! I SHALL BE RYAN AND YOU SHALL BE CHAD!**

**_(Just in case you other readers didn't know, that ^ is my friend Alex. I do know her, I don't just insult random people unless they insult me first!)_**

* * *

**X**

She opened the door to her apartment, and switching on the light, she checked her phone.

1 missed call- Izzy.

Tessa smiled and text her. _Skype me. I've got unlimited internet on my phone_ Xx

About a minute later, her phone buzzed.

_K. You have to tell me about your boyfriend! Xx_

Tessa sighed_. He is NOT my boyfriend. I actually hate him. Xx_

_Why? Xx_

_I'll rant about it on Skype x._

_K, I'll txt everyone 2 come online Xxx_

_Alright (^-^) She_ replied quickly, before logging online.

Straight away, she got a call, titled –**Tessa may or may not have a boyfriend!**

She answered. "IZZY!" She yelled, only to have a knock on the wall. "If it's you Will, fuck off, you _and_ your sarcasm. If it's Jem, what do you want?" She yelled to the wall.

She heard laughter as Jace and Clary joined Isabelle on the same webcam- it appeared Clary was staying at the Lightwood house.

There was silence for a moment, before-

"Tessa, sorry to ask, yet Will is telling me to tell you to put on some music loud enough so he can hear it." Jem's voice came.

Tessa glanced at her Skype. "Hang on, should I call you back?"

"No don't! This is interesting!" Jace said quickly.

Simon joined the call. "What's interesting?"

"Tessa's neighbours_._" Izzy replied.

"Is there a reason Will can't play music?" Tessa called.

"Yes. I may or may not have deleted all his songs, and downloaded Avril Lavigne onto them." Jem called back innocently.

Jace snorted. "Perfect Tessa. You can just borrow his phone whenever yours is flat."

Tessa laughed. "Sorry, Will. I'm _on_ my phone. Believe it or not, I have friends."

There was silence. "He doesn't believe it." Jem managed to have a raised voice, yet still sigh.

"Tessa, do you not have other dormers who might complain about the noise?" Clary asked.

Tessa looked thoughtful. "Good question." She turned to the wall again. "Jem? Will? Are there any other dormers on this floor?"

"Nope, just below." Will called.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" Tessa asked.

"Actually no, you told my sarcasm to fuck off." Will corrected.

Tessa rolled her eyes. "Sorry about him, guys." Tessa apologised as Alec and Magnus joined.

"WE CAN STILL HEAR YOU, THERESA GRAY! AND WE ARE VERY OFFENDED!" Will shouted.

Tessa attempted to ignore him.

"JEM WOULD LIKE NOW LIKE ME TO POINT OUT THAT HE ISN'T OFFENDED, SINCE YOU WEREN'T RUDE TO HIM AND THAT HE ACTUALLY FINDS IT FUNNY AND THINKS YOU SHOULD OFFEND ME OFTEN!"

Tessa sighed. "Pleeeaaaassse can I call you back?" She begged.

"Nope! I like arguments." Izzy told her.

"Very well. Jace, please note that I've found someone who is more annoying than you, and can give you a run for your money in sarcasm." Tessa said.

Simon fell off his chair, Izzy mock fainted and Clary, Magnus and Alec snorted. Jace simply smirked.

"Hang on." Tessa said to the Skype group. "WILLIAM HERONDALE! FOR THE SECOND TIME, I AM TELLING YOU TO SHUT UP OR _I_ _WILL_ COME OVER AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT."

"Please do." Will's voice came in a seductive tone.

Tessa closed her eyes. "Jem, throw something at him. Something heavy." She then picked up her phone and went into her bedroom.

"Hey guys!" Tessa said.

A chorus of 'heys' came back.

"Magnus, what's wrong?" Izzy asked Magnus, who was frowning.

"Did you say William Herondale? And Jem?" Magnus asked, frowning.

"Yes, do you know them?" Tessa asked.

Magnus nodded. "Whilst I lived in England."

Alec immediately looked curious, but Izzy interrupted with a pout.

"Guys. This isn't about that. This is about the fact Tessa may-or-may-not have a boyfriend." She said.

Tessa rolled her eyes. "Izzy, I do not have a boyfriend." Tessa said, in a danger-calm voice.

"Oops, gotta go. Rebecca's back." Simon said, looking behind him.

"Oh, alright. Bye Simon!" Clary said.

A chorus of bye Simons sounded, alongside a "Bye, Steve!" From Magnus.

"Magnus, what the _hell_ is your cat doing!" Alec yelled.

Magnus looked to where Alec was pointing and looked confused. Confused and angry.

"Er, gotta go." Magnus said, hanging up quickly.

Izzy sighed and Tessa grinned. The boys were tactful about when to leave the conversation. "Jace, the following conversation will be about boys." Izzy warned Jace, who stood up and left rather quickly.

"Tessa, were you on a date with _two_ _boys_?" Clary demanded.

Tessa could feel herself blushing. "NO!" She yelled. "Look, the guy I met almost a year ago, my neighbour to be precise, is actually dorming in the apartment next to mine. I casually ran into him," _Big lie_, she thought "And I could smell Chinese food coming from his apartment, and told him that I didn't know British people ordered Chinese and I thought it was just Fish and Chips."

"Omg! Did he invite you for dinner! WOW! I mean, a takeaway isn't _that_ romantic, but-" Izzy started.

Tessa snorted. "It _wasn't_ a takeaway, that's the thing. Will, my neighbour - the guy you think I'm dating - sort of had a heart attack when I said it was a takeaway."

"Aw! He cooks? And he cooks _Chinese_? Tessa, he's a _guy_ who _cooks_. Not to mention he's British." Izzy cut in.

"Hey, Iz, you should meet him." Clary said. "He's British and his food is edible!"

Izzy elbowed Clary.

Tessa interrupted them quickly. "Let me tell the story. Anyway, his-" _What was Jem to Will? A brother? A _**boyfriend**_? A cousin? A friend?_ "His _friend_, Jem, appeared at the doorway and said that Will had asked him, or rather forced him, to cook Chinese food, because Jem comes from… I think it was Shanghai? Anyway, Will said he'd cook Christmas dinner and Jem laughed and told him he wouldn't, since he ruined the Christmas dinner last year. Jem then asked me to stay for dinner, to prove to Will that he was a better chef than Will. Anyway, long story short, the Chinese food was practically heaven, the nicest thing I've ever tasted. Oh, and Will went to make dessert, only for him to blow up the microwave." Tessa finished.

Izzy raised an eyebrow. "Must have been a fun evening." She said. They all burst out laughing.

That reminded Tessa. "Oh, Clary. Just to let you know, Jem can raise his eyebrow."

Clary frowned, and Izzy laughed harder.

Tessa grinned. "No honestly, it was a brilliant night. I found out that Jem can eat rice krispies with chopsticks and that Will can't use chopsticks. At _all_."

"Wait, did _you_ use chopsticks? After last time…" Clary began, putting a hand to her eye.

Tessa blushed again. "Shut up, it was an accident! Anyway, no, I opted for a fork."

Izzy smiled. "So how did it go?"

Clary, however, had a different question. "Did you say he could eat _rice_ _krispies_ with _chopsticks_?"

They laughed again.

"Oh, by the way, you're coming to mine for Christmas. No ifs, no buts." Izzy stated.

Tessa frowned. "Iz, that's about two weeks away! I can't get a ticket in that amount of time!"

Izzy grinned. "It's all sorted, don't worry."

Tessa sighed.

Izzy was alert again. "So which one are you dating?" She asked Tessa.

Tessa put her head into her hands. "I'm not dating either of them. I only just met them today! Well, technically, I met them for about twenty seconds seven months ago, but still!"

Izzy and Clary snorted as Tessas phone battery went to 10%.

"Damnit! My phones only on 10%, gotta go." Tessa told them.

Izzy sighed and Clary frowned slightly. "Thank God you are only doing one year of Uni, its killing me not seeing you, and besides, it's only been one month!"

"This conversation is not over, Theresa!" Izzy warned.

Tessa smiled, said bye, and then ended the call, closing her eyes for a moment.

Next thing she knew, she was asleep.


	6. The other side of the door

**IT'SSSSSSSSSSS MONDAY!**

**The chapter below me (notcounting the A/N) is 3,333 words. So once again, it's long :)**

**AnimeArtistGirl: DON'T CHOKE! :D And hey, why would i go anywhere? I actually have faith in this story, I already have the plot thought out (if not typed out because, like i've probably said, i'm lazy) so I won't be stuck with idea's meaning i won't leave this story!**

**I am a fangirl forever: THANK-YOU!**

**Accioswiftgames: You found it now! AND HERE IS SAID CHAPTER! #GOTTA-LOVE-SOME-IMPLIED-HERONSTAIRS-AND-TESSA-ASKING-IF-THEY'RE-GAY-OR-NOT!**

**Harmonic Bunny: (Inserts Asthma inhailer or oxygen mask here so you can breath!)**

**Cferrer: Of course. Hey, me and Alex got a inclusion (In a room for the whole school day) for it, but then the whole class joined in and they couldn't put us all in so we got let off! Mwahahaha! WHAT TEAM? (I may put some HSM themes in here... just maybe...)**

**Disneyinmyblood4: Oh dear, Alex is going to start wearing a crown if she finds out people agree with her. But yes, Malec whenever i can. As for Wessa, well, that's in an A/N at the end.**

**Jade Pendant: DAT. NAME. OMG. It sounds like a name but then... Jessa. Unless your name actually is Jade Pendant. In which case, get a cookie. In fact, just let everyone take my cookies. I don't like them. As for your review, I agree completely. I PM-ed you on the matterm actually,but read the A/N at the end for my offical and final statement on the matter!**

**THANKS FOR REVIEWING, GUYS, AND DON'T FORGET TO FOR THIS CHAPER! A/N AT THE END REGARDING WESSA/JESSA AND THERE'S A SUPRISE TOO!**

* * *

"Urg. No way did I fall asleep at seven o'clock last night. No way." Tessa mumbled, looking at her clock.

6:28am.

Tessa groaned and slammed her head into the pillow.

Two minutes later, her alarm went off.

This may not be a bad thing to most people, but when you've just woken up, your phone is playing Sk8er Boi at full volume and it's plugged into the iPod dock you were using as your charger? You have a problem.

Tessa shot up out of bed. She had set it for that time for yesterday morning, she must have forgotten to turn it off. She cursed inwardly as she stepped on her hairdryer, feeling her way out her room in the dark.

"DAMN WINTER!" She yelled, going into the main room and wrenching her phone from the dock, slamming the off button. She collapsed onto the sofa.

_Mental note: Do not start your morning like that_, she thought.

When the knocking came on her door she didn't think about it and acted as she usually would- to open it.

The first thing she saw were the brilliantly blue eyes. The next thing she saw was the smirk.

"Will!" She shrieked.

She was wearing a thin cardigan, tank-top and shorts, but in front of the boy who was almost a stranger, she felt naked. She pulled the cardigan across her more.

"You were the one who opened the door." He pointed out, still smirking.

As Tessa's vision became less blurry she saw that Will was dressed and awake, eating what looked like a pancake, folded up and the bottom wrapped in a cardboard holder. "Yes, because I was used to opening the door to my brother, not to a complete stranger." She grumbled.

Will's smirk broadened. "I didn't think you'd be up. I came to tell you there's another meet-and-greet. And," he added, seeing Tessa's expression, "it's compulsory."

"They never are." Tessa said, eyes narrowed.

"I'll correct myself. I am forcing you to come." Will said simply.

Tessa refused. "Never." She told him.

Will glanced at his watch, and then looked at Tessa pleadingly.

"No." She said firmly.

Will grinned. "I'll give you a crepe."

Tessa shrugged. "I'll live with my cornflakes."

Will's grin widened. "No you won't."

Tessa yawned.

"You do know I'll stand here until you say ok, right?" Will said, sounding bored yet persistent.

"No, I don't." Tessa snapped.

"Well I will. If I convinced Jem to go to a meet and greet, I can convince you."

Tessa glared at him. "See? Jem didn't want to be woken up in the morning whilst it's still pitch black outside, either."

Will snorted. "Actually, Jem was awake before I was. It was the smell of the crepes that convinced me to get up." He said, wafting the smell in front of Tessa, who wrinkled her nose.

"There's chocolate on that, isn't there?" She asked him.

Will took a bite out of it, nodding.

"That's convinced me. To _not_ _go_. I _hate_ chocolate."

Will mock fainted, falling straight back onto the floor, not just putting a hand to his forehead. He jumped up like the fall had had no impact. It probably hadn't.

"I'm giving you half an hour." He said, before he went into his apartment.

Tessa considered going back to bed, before realising she'd had twelve hours of sleep and may as well get up.

She sighed. By the sounds of it, Jem wasn't fond of these things either. She would probably just stick with him.

* * *

She showered (the water was cold) and dressed, put on a basic layer of foundation (just enough to look natural, not so she appeared like she was trying) and did her hair into a loose bun. She was pouring some cornflakes when the door burst open.

"PUT DOWN THE CORNFLAKES!" Will boomed.

Tessa dropped them on the floor in surprise. She evidently hadn't shut the door properly before.

"Oh, I actually just meant put them on the worktop, but the floor works fine." Will said with a shrug.

Tessa glared at him, picking up the box, thanking the fact none of them had spilt on the floor. "What do you want?"

Will grinned, and bounded over to her, passing her a crepe. "It's just lemon and sugar, I promise." He said innocently.

Tessa took it from him warily and bit into it. She felt her mouth melt.

Will must have seen her expression, because he laughed. "Told you that you wouldn't live with your cornflakes."

Tessa glared at him, and swallowed. "I'm starting to think you have the better part of the bargain with you being roommates with Jem."

Will grinned. "Why? He gets _me_!" He gestured to himself. "And besides, I have willingly concluded Jem is a better cook than me after eating the crepes this morning."

Tessa rolled her eyes. "How long have you lived with him?" She asked curiously.

"Jem came to live in the Branwell house when he was ten." He said slowly.

_So they aren't a couple_, Tessa thought. _Probably_. "How long's he been cooking?"

"Depends what you define as 'cooking'. A batch of muffins? He was ten. When Charlotte first let him cook a meal he was thirteen."

Tessa grinned. "So, if you're at university, I'm guessing your nineteen. That means you've had six years to get used to his cooking."

"I haven't. Agatha used to cook until we were sixteen, and then..." Will said, his jaw tightening slightly. "I've only had three years to get used to it." Will continued. "But Charlotte always cooked if she was home."

"Who're Agatha and Charlotte?"

"Charlotte is what I _suppose_ you'd call my mother. Agatha was her mother."

"You're adopted?" Tessa asked him.

"Yes, it's a subject I don't like to talk about." Will said coolly.

Tessa took another bite of her crepe and decided. "Will?" She asked him, swallowing.

"Tessa?" He said, though, in a rare occasion for him, there was nothing but curiosity in his words.

Tessa frowned. She'd never thought about her name, but she liked the way he pronounced it. The hard T, the caress of the ss', and the soft a. She was falling for the English accent, and fast. _Though Will isn't English_, she reminded herself. "Jem is definitely the better cook over you. You cannot beat this. No one can beat this." She said, grabbing her little bag and her phone. They stepped out of her apartment, Tessa careful to lock her door.

Jem came out of his apartment in a white shirt and dark jeans. He was dressed more formally than Will, but only because Will's clothes were creased and Jem's weren't.

"Oh. But… you're British. Do you not wear top-hats and tails? And you don't carry canes?" Tessa asked, sadly.

Jem smiled and reached behind the door of his apartment, bringing out a cane to show Tessa. Tessa looked at him like he performed magic as he stepped into the apartment and came out with a top hat.

Will and Jem laughed at her expression.

Jem placed the hat on Will.

Tessa snorted. "How?"

They laughed again. "It isn't magic, sorry. The cane is a lucky family heirloom of mine, whilst the top hat is just one of the many hats me and Will have." Jem explained, twirling the cane. It was a deep jade colour, with a golden dragon head on the top.

Tessa sighed, mock sadly, but then frowned. "One of the many?"

Will grinned. "Long, _long_ story."

"Tell me." Tessa said simply.

Will smiled mischievously. "Fine. On the way to the meet-and-greet." He passed his hat to Jem, who placed it back inside along with the cane.

Jem sighed. "I don't see why you are demanding I come, Will. I could be doing better things right now."

"Like what? You were up an hour before me. So don't say you would be sleeping." Will asked.

Tessa choked on the remainder of her crepe. "That means you were up at about six in the morning!"

"No, _I_ was up at six in the morning. Jem was up at five." Will corrected.

Jem rolled his eyes. "Getting up early is a habit I never got out of." He explained to a shocked Tessa. "I always used to wake up early in Shanghai because I was a child. My life had a schedule when I lived in America. But hey, I'm in University now, maybe the fact I get up early will come in handy."

"Yes, you can make breakfast!" Will said cheerily, as they set off.

"Did you say you lived in _America_?" Tessa asked, interested. "Where?"

"Whilst I was in medical school a while ago. I went all over America, but I usually stayed in New York and Los Angles for most of my time there."

"Don't you have to be over twenty-one to go to medical school?" Tessa asked.

"If you want to become an actual doctor. I just went to learn first aid after what happened at Christmas. The course ended with actually being a doctor for a year." He rolled his eyes. "How fun."

"Remember the blond guy in New York?" Will asked him.

Jem sighed. "It was a paper cut. A _paper cut. _To be honest, I was more worried for the girl with the black-eye._"_

_Oh no. No, no, no, no_… Tessa thought, remembering the Boxing Day meal she'd had with everyone at Taki's_._

_"How do you eat with chopsticks? This is literally _themostcomplicated_-" Tessa started, breaking off when one of the bean-_things_ slipped from her plate, hitting Clary in the eye._

_"OMG Clary! I'm so sor-" Tessa started._

_Clary laughed it off. "It's fine. With the number of times I've hit myself in the eye with a pencil or a paintbrush, I'm used to being hit in the eye."_

The evening had been fairly uneventful, except Clary and Simons Anime battle. (Who would be the most likely to survive in a battle, Light or L?)

_"L. He's like, a detective! I mean, surely he knows how to handle himself in a fist-fight." Simon shot._

_"_Oh please_. Light's athletic. He was junior champion of tennis, for god's sake! Plus, he has the notebook, he could kill L a lot quicker than L could kill him." Clary threw back._

_"Light doesn't have L's name." Simon said, giving an excellent point. "That's kind of the problem Light has in the series."_

_"Urg, just go with the hottest one! They're usually the better fighters." Izzy intervened, fifteen minutes later._

_"Thanks, Iz. See my point, Alec?" Jace said, smirking._

_"He does. He now knows why he's a better fighter than you." Magnus told Jace. "Why you both learnt to fight is a different -and worrying- topic altogether." He said, his tone now thoughtful._

_Jace simply scowled, and went to read Tessa's paper from her fortune cookie, before she pulled it from his hands. "OW! Look! She has _stabbed_ my finger!" Jace yelled, causing people to stare._

_"It's a paper cut." Tessa sighed._

_"You'll live." Alec told him._

_"No, look! BLOOD! Death could be imminent." Jace said, looking at the small drop of blood slipping down his hand._

_"Urg. Wipe it away, Jace." Simon muttered._

_"Why, scared of a little blood?" Clary taunted, giving Simon a friendly jab in the rib._

_"Or maybe he's a _vampire_!" Jace said in a Transylvanian accent, causing Izzy to throw her water on him._

_Jace glared at her, before looking to Tessa. "A&E. I definitely have to go to A&E."_

_Tessa simply glared at him._

_Jace looked to Clary. "Clary…" He began._

_"You aren't going to drop this, are you?" Clary sighed._

_"Nope. Though I may drop down _dead_."_

_Clary grabbed her bag. "Idiot." She muttered, before they made their way out of the door, calling goodbyes._

"Out of interest, was this blond incredibly arrogant and sarcastic?" Tessa asked.

Jem grinned. "I was wondering why Will had an American accent and blond hair. His friend had to point out it wasn't Will."

Tessa smiled again, thinking back to when they'd all met at Java Jones the next day.

_"So, Jace. I see you aren't dead." Isabelle noted when Jace walked in._

_Jace glared and Clary laughed._

_Izzy's eyes narrowed, whilst Simon, Alec and Tessa came back with the drinks. Magnus and Isabelle hadn't helped, they had been debating about this girl on America's next top model._

_"What's so funny?" Izzy asked Clary._

_They all sat down in one of the booths._

_"Jace had the_ coolest_ doctor. _Ever_. In the history of _ever_." Clary said, laughing again._

_"Let me guess. He liked anime?" Tessa asked._

_"Better than that. You know how only Maryse can get Jace to shut up?"_

_Everyone nodded. Jace's scowl deepened._

_"Well, Jace shut up last night." Clary told them._

_"Tell us." Izzy had demanded._

_"Okay, well. Jace burst in through the doors of the hospital, claiming he was dying and only had seconds to live. I ended up dragging him to the front desk. Once we did he 'fainted'. Anyway, I told the receptionist that he had a paper cut and was being a git about it-"_

_Jace made a disapproved noise._

_"Well you _were_." Clary told him._

_Jace motioned for her to continue with her story._

_"And I asked her if there was something she could do, besides from throwing us out. The woman took one look at Jace, who'd 'woken up', and pressed the intercom thingy, asking for someone like Zachariah…?"_

_Clary broke off, looking for Jace for confirmation, who nodded._

_"And then this really young boy came out, but like, _ourage_ young. He just gave this really nice smile and asked the receptionist why she said that Will's relative was here."_

_"Who's Will?" Simon asked._

_"More on that later." Clary promised. "Anyway, the receptionist just pointed to Jace, who was still cursing about his paper cut, and the doctor's smile just got wider and asked us to come with him. He took us to one of the private hospital rooms and when I asked him who Will was he said that Will was his brother. Anyway, he sat Jace down and got all serious, asking him what the problem was. When Jace told him it was a paper cut, the doctor-"_

_"Who? Peter Capaldi?" Simon quizzed._

_Everyone ignored him._

_"-had this really serious expression and Jace told him it was from reading a fortune cookie. He just smiled again and told Jace he would definitely have to have stitches _and_ stay overnight, because with the amount of blood he'd lost he'd be unstable on his feet. We both thought he was joking until he asked me to leave and to collect Jace around 10 this morning, providing he was stable on his feet. It definitely wiped the smirk off Jace's face."_

_Simon and Magnus and Alec were trying to hold their laughter but Tessa and Izzy looked puzzled. Jace stirred his coffee with a stirring stick, looking bored._

_"Anyway, at half ten I arrived at the hospital and the doctor greeted me. He apologised for like, you know, making Jace stay overnight. I just told him it was fine, because it _was_, and said it was actually funny. I asked him why he did it, and he said that Jace reminded him of his brother, and that when his brother had done that a while ago, he'd done the exact same thing, and his brother had seemed a lot less sarcastic and stuff the next day. Well, he didn't say 'and stuff', 'cause he was British-"_

_"How hot was he?" Izzy demanded._

_Clary smirked and looked at Jace. "He wasn't really _hot_, but he was really good looking. I mean, like I said, he was only around seventeen, but he had this gorgeous black hair, with small silvery streaks, and silvery-black eyes. They were sort of lilted, I think he was Asian. He was really kind, as well. Anyway, turns out that Jace hadn't had stitches, but he did stay at the hospital overnight. God, he looked ready to kill someone from boredom."_

_Jace glared at Clary._

_Tessa snorted. "Take note, Jace. Stealing my fortune cookie note will end up with you in hospital for twelve hours."_

_Jace glared at her, too. "After all that I've been through, you _have_ to tell me what it read."_

_Tessa shrugged. "Fortune and partners are just around the corner."_

_Izzy squealed. "I'm so keeping track of you! Whenever you aren't in my sight, I'll find a way to know your actions, don't you worry."_

_"Why must you try so hard to find me someone?" Tessa asked._

_"Because you're too innocent for her liking." Jace filled in._

_"Oh come on! Really? Clary, Simon? Ja- actually, no. Can you two help me with this?"_

_Simon blushed slightly, but only Tessa noticed. She raised her eyebrows at him and he nodded._

_"Why aren't you picking on Clary?" Tessa asked, thinking that Simon wasn't as innocent as he played out. Maybe him and Isabelle…?_

_"Because Clary has a boyfriend. That's farther than what you've got. You've never been on a _date_!" Izzy said._

Tessa cut out the conversation, and tuned into Will and Jem's.

"He wasn't." Will argued.

"No, but he was close." Jem sighed.

"What?" Tessa asked.

"And the lady has emerged from her thoughts." Will sighed dramatically. "Please tell Jem I am not like some insufferable blond American-" Will started.

"Was his name Jace, by any chance?" Tessa asked Jem, who nodded.

"Yes, do you know him?" He asked.

"He was a friend. And _just a friend_." She added, noticing Will's expression, particularly the raised eyebrow. "And Jem is right, you know. He is remarkably like you."

"Not a chance. He is not remarkably good-looking, neither is he incredibly smart, an _excellent_ cook and British." Will defended.

"Nice to know you think those things about me, Will." Jem said.

Will glared at him. "You wouldn't let me play the- actually no, you're Chinese card, would you?" He asked.

"I've lived in Britain for seven years. I speak the language fluently and my father was British. So no, I won't."

"Then I shall simply have to tell you that you aren't remarkably good looking. Or incredibly smart." Will said.

"Neither are you, for that matter." Jem replied, shaking his head in a mock-pitying way.

"Jace on the other hand…" Tessa started, grinning at their reactions.

Will raised his eyebrow again. "Is he British?"

"Well, he has a British accent, so yes. Yes he is." Tessa said.

"_Is he though_? Jem's Chinese, yet he has a British accent-" Will began.

"Will. I'm beginning to think that all I am to you as a friend is an example of foreigners living in Britain, so you can win an argument." Jem said, as they descended yet another flight of stairs.

"Not at all. You're a chef, as well." Will said.

Tessa grinned. "So you are admitting Jem is the better cook."

Will swore. Jem grinned.

"I was saying Jem could cook, not saying that he was a better cook than me." Will said.

"But he is." Tessa said.

"Nonsense." Will replied.

"There is plenty of sense in nonsense, if you just know where to look." Tessa told him.

"Believe me, Will does not." Jem said.

Tessa laughed, thinking about what Clary had said so long ago. _Will was his brother, or something._

_So they aren't gay, _she thought_. Or are they, and did Jem just lie about Will being his brother to save the awkwardness of admitting he was gay?_

She took a deep breath as they descended down the last flight of stairs. She was going to ask them. Now.

"Are you two…?" _Wait, she couldn't be so outright about it_! "So do you two have-" _What? Girlfriends? Boyfriends_? "Any idea where we're going?" She finished lamely.

Will winked at her. "Have a little faith, Miss Gray. You don't get anywhere in life without trusting people."

"You managed around eight years." Jem informed him in a quiet voice.

Will shrugged and Tessa frowned at the information.

* * *

**Okkk, little surprise first. The trio are currently going to a meet and greet ^.**

**I need background people, and you readers are people. (I hope). If you want, give me your eye colour, hair colour and rough hair length (short, shoulder length, waist length, etc) and your first name (last one isn't required and can be fake if you want) and i'll include you in the story!**

**Alright, now the serious bit.**

**Jessa VS Wessa.**

**Right.**

**I don't believe one can exist without the other. Jem and Will are one being, how can Tessa pick which half? I understand the Wessa's point- Will and Tessa are literally perfect for each other with their sass and love of books, etc. I understand a Jessa's point, that Jem was always there for her, never deserted her (and was, quite simply, Jem).**

**HERE'S THE FINAL STATEMENT!**

**Tessa first goes out with Will. He'll screw up and Tessa goes out with Jem (not immediately!). Will apologises to Tessa and she falls for him again. What happens after that, or who ends up with Tessa, i don't know.**

**I'll decide later in the story. But i'm giving both Wessa and Jessa equal amounts here. 50-50 ratio, definitely. AND I WANT TO MAKE SOMETHING QUITE CLEAR.**

**JEM IS NOT AN OBSTICLE, SOMETHING FOR TESSA AND WILL TO HAVE TO GET AROUND IN ORDER FOR THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO WORK. I don't write like that. I couldn't ever write like that. I don't know who ends up with Tessa, but i'll tie it all up so it works out, not like it did in Raziels academy. **

**RIGHT, WHY ARE MY A/N'S SO SERIOUS? Right, i'll end it on a joke.**

**Why did the chicken cross the road?**

**...TO GET TO THE OTHER SIDE! (Ba-dum tush!) **

**Oh, i'm funny. A comedian in the making. Much wow.**

Ok, see you next week! (Unless i have upload problems. It happens a lot)


	7. The hall

**25th January 2014**: SORRY TO ALL THOSE WHO THOUGHT THIS IS AN UPDATE! IT'S ACTUALLY JUST THE EDITED VERSION BECAUSE I FORGOT TO PROOF-READ! But I will be updating on monday, don't worry!

**X**

* * *

**Following chapter is 3123 words, uncounting the A/N!**

**Now my lovelies who gave me an identity, I've thrown you all into this chapter just as a little introduction. You'll be having conversations with people around Campus and during lectures, etc, because I don't like to use OC's. This is just a taster so you know I saw your reviews**.

**And I'm not going to put review responces on here for the last chapter, because they were mostly just characters for me to put in, so I don't know how to respond!**

* * *

**X**

When they entered the hall, Tessa could feel the glares. She turned towards a bunch of girls, who looked like they wanted to stab Tessa. Will followed Tessa's gaze and laughed, dropping a wink at the four girls. The middle, a blond with shallow brown eyes, dropped a wink back, the one on her left with mousy brown hair and solid green eyes blushed heavily, the one beside her, the eldest, tossed her blond hair over her shoulder, her green eyes flashing. Only the one near the back rolled her watercolour green eyes.

Tessa looked to Will. "This is Coll-_University_, not high school." She said, correcting her American grammar. "Why are they acting like they're plotting my death because I walked in the room with you?"

"Because," Will said simply, "me and Jem are stunningly attractive."

Tessa snorted.

"You're right, let's re-phrase that." Will righted.

"Because I'm stunningly attractive." Will and Jem said simultaneously, both impersonating each other's accents.

The two of them both smiled, which Will switched for a smirk. "That, Mr Carstairs, was a terrible impression."

Jem quirked his eyebrow. "Diolch." He said. Will's eyes lit up at the word. Jem then frowned. "You made me sound…no, it wasn't even a Chinese accent. I don't even know what to make of it."

"Xièxiè." Will said, watching as Jem burst into laughter. He managed to stop pretty quickly, but his eyes were still dancing with mirth.

"Will, I know my Welsh is terrible, but please, I am begging you. Never speak Mandarin, or impersonate my accent, again." Jem pleaded.

Will's eyes sparked again as he looked to Tessa and then to Jem, who grinned.

"But James, that will leave us out of accents." Will sighed.

_Oh no_…Tessa thought.

"If only there was another foreigner here." Said Jem, sighing also.

"I am _begging_ you-" Tessa began.

"Howdy, ma'am." Will and Jem said in a Texas accent, making Tessa roll her eyes.

"I am not Texan." Tessa told them. "I'm from New York."

They both grinned. Tessa sighed. _What had she just started_?

"It's almost Christmas." Jem said to Will.

"It is, isn't it?!" Will said happily.

"Hey Tessa, do you want to know the best thing about Christmas?" They asked her.

"Tell me." Tessa said, fighting a smile.

"SAN-NA!" They both said, their grins lighting up their eyes.

Tessa sighed, as they passed a small sand selling miscellaneous snacks and drinks. Jem looked to it and then to Will. Will's grin widened, if possible.

"Tessa, do you want a cworfee?" Will asked, gesturing to the coffee.

Tessa resisted the urged to face palm and laugh at the same time.

"Or maybe some _Cotton Candy_!" Jem said, clasping his hands together like a delighted child.

Will grinned. "Or a corn dawg!"

A peal of laughter escaped Tessa's lips. "You're Louisianan all of a sudden?" She questioned, to which Will winked at.

"I can be whatever you want be to be, Miss Gray." He told her in a flirtatious voice.

Tessa snorted. "Someone who hasn't got an over-inflated ego."

Will frowned as Jem laughed. "I have not-" Will began.

"You do, William. Even you know it." Jem told him, before spotting someone and sighing. "Bridget's back." He told Will, who looked over to the music table and laughed.

"Good luck with that." He told Jem.

Jem rolled his eyes. "Thank-you. I'll need it." He told Will, before he left to go towards the table a group of students were standing at.

"Music table. Jem's taking music." Will reminded Tessa.

Tessa sighed. Now it was just Will and her. "Why are you taking English?" She asked him.

Will scowled. "Because Jem forced me out of doing handiwork."

Tessa blinked, thinking to the collapsed shelf the other night. "I thought Jem was joking about that."

Will shrugged. "No, he was serious. I also chose English because I doubt I'll ever need to study for it."

Tessa shot him a glare. "English is one of the hardest subjects. If you chose it for a sit off-"

Will grinned. "Oh please. Give me a book quote and I'll tell you where it's from."

Tessa decided to go easy on him, so she immediately thought of Harry Potter. If Will hadn't read them, he should not be bragging about his knowledge of books. "Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light."

Will rolled his eyes. "I'm offended. How stupid do you think I am? Everyone knows that's from Harry Potter."

_Good_, Tessa thought. "Fine-"

Will made a 'tut-tut' noise. "It's my turn, Miss Gray." He said, looking thoughtful. "He is a gentleman, and I am a gentleman's daughter. So far we are equal."

Tessa snorted. "And you thought I was going easy? Pride and prejudice."

Will quirked his eyebrow.

"Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing." Tessa said, quoting a line from one of her recent favourites.

Will rolled his eyes again. "To kill a mockingbird."

Tessa frowned at the way he said it so smoothly. The fact that he'd quoted pride and prejudice at her, followed by him immediately knowing Tessa's quote? Odd. "How…?" She began.

Will grinned. "It was me who first began calling James Jem, Tessa. The book's been one of my favourites for a long, long time."

Tessa frowned again, but was secretly delighted that he'd read it.

* * *

"Trouble with mice is you always kill 'em."

"Of mice and men." Will said, without even pausing to think. They'd long reached the table by now but hadn't been talking to anyone else, they had just been playing the game for the last **_two hours_**.

Tessa huffed.

"You're beautiful." Will said in a softer voice.

Tessa frowned. "That could be from any number of books, Will."

"I wasn't quoting anyone." Will said, still in a soft voice as he looked at Tessa, his deep cerulean eyes staring at her, drinking in her features. "I'm going for a coffee. Do you want one?" He said suddenly, jumping off the table to two had been sat on.

Tessa nodded, not trusting herself to speak, trying to make sense of what had happened.

"Oh my God." A voice said from behind Tessa, the minute Will had left.

Tessa turned curiously to see a girl who was simply stunning. Her deep brown hair was hanging down one side of her face, but the side that Tessa could see was beautiful. Tessa was envious.

"You have to be the first. Congratulations." She said, rolling her visible eye.

"The first what?" Tessa asked her.

She grinned. "The first girl to catch Will's eyes."

"The first _girl_?" Tessa asked.

The girl shrugged. "Everyone thought him and Jem… well, you've seen the way they act around each other. Trust me, they've blown kisses to each other in the corridor."

"I don't think either of them are gay." Tessa said.

The girl shrugged again. "Neither. I mean, I hope not, I mean-" She cursed.

Tessa grinned. Evidently, everyone thought Will was attractive. "How am I the first to catch his attention?" She asked. "He's winked at every girl we've walked past."

The girl grinned. "He'll flirt with anything that has a heartbeat. But he's never made a straight out compliment like that."

Tessa frowned at the new bit of information. "_Really_?"

The girl laughed. "I know it doesn't seem like it, but he's probably the most untouchable guy on campus if you don't count Jem."

Tessa blinked.

She laughed again. "I'm Sophie Collins, by the way. I'm taking art. Well actually fashion, but-" She went on explaining about how she only took fashion so she could sew and that she had no interest in fashion at all, and that she was stuck in a class with Jessamine Lovelace and her cronies. Tessa had no idea who Jessamine was.

"Boo." A voice came from behind them, making Tessa and Sophie jump and turn around.

"Hey Jem!" The girls chorused happily. Tessa didn't miss the slight blush on Sophie's cheeks and grinned. So it _wasn't_ Will that Sophie liked.

Jem's happy personality faded a bit. "I..." He cleared his throat. "Ran into Jessamine a few moments ago. Jessamine told me to tell you that she probably wouldn't be in tonight."

Sophie's face held disgust. "Right. So is that everyone but you and Will she's been with?"

Tessa frowned. "I though you said Will was untouchable."

"Yes, but compliments and suggestions go straight to that pretty little head of his. He is honestly the _biggest_ _git_-" Sophie started venomously, before looking to Jem. "Sorry."

Jem waved off the comment. "It's fine. I love it when I hear a girl talking about Will in a bad way. It makes a brilliant change." He looked to Tessa. "Me and Will were going to go. We'll see you later?" He sounded hopeful.

Tessa smiled. "Of course. I'm looking forward to it. I may even gate-crash your dinner."

Jem grinned. "As long as you bring dessert." He said, quoting Will from before, then turned and left, calling a goodbye over his shoulder.

"How _the_ _hell_ Will is best friends with Jem is bloody unbelievable. When Jem's so kind and good and honest-" Sophie began.

"So, you _like_ Jem?" Tessa asked, changing the subject.

She blushed. "Not in that way. I respect him, but I don't really let myself fall for guys anymore."

Tessa understood in a heartbeat. "Someone do something to you?"

Sophie moved the hair from one side of her face, revealing a scar that twisted and disfigured her beautiful features. She let the hair fall in her eyes again, hiding the ruined part of her face.

"Oh my God. Sophie, I'm so sorry-" Tessa began, but Sophie interrupted.

"It's fine. You weren't the one who did it, were you?" She asked simply, just as a voice called from behind her.

"Hi Soph!" The voice said brightly, a flowing twist to her words. _Italian_, Tessa thought.

Sophie smiled as she turned around. "Effie!" She greeted happily.

_Effie_? Tessa thought, her mind on the hunger games, though looking to the girl, she decided she was definitely quite normal. Her brown hair was tied into a neat ponytail, revealing kind, dark brown eyes. Tessa smiled at the girl, who was around Clary's height. Tessa never really called people short, though. She just called herself a giant.

Sophie and Effie struck up a conversation for a bit before Effie left, Sophie snapping her fingers in front of Tessa's face to bring her back to reality. "You alright?" She asked.

"Yeah." Tessa said, before shrugging. "I just… don't really know anyone, I guess."

Sophie's face brightened. "Oh, don't worry about it! I never knew anyone either, but…" She trailed off, looking around. "I'll point out a few people, just so you'll know a few people." Her eyes stopped on the table exactly besides them. "Ok, so I don't think there's anyone worth mentioning around that table besides from Alice." She pointed to a girl who would rival Isabelle's beauty. Her waist-length hair was golden blond and curled artistically at the ends in a way Tessa had never succeeded in doing. Her ice-blue eyes were currently dancing as she laughed alongside the group she was with. "She used to be with the girls by the door that you probably passed on the way in, before she realised they were total bitches and left. Alice is pretty nice, though."

"Those girls by the door." Tessa began. "Who are they?"

Sophie snorted. "The blond with the brown eyes is Jessamine Lovelace, aka my dorm mate. Thankfully, she's always out with another guy, so I don't have to put up with her. The mousy-brown haired girl with the green eyes is Tatiana Lightwood. Not as pretty as Jessamine though double the bitch. She's also incredibly infatuated with William Herondale. The one near her, the blond with the green eyes is Camille Belcourt. Apparently from the people she was in collage with, she was actually a really nice girl, but her boyfriend broke it off with her to move to America, making her sour and moody. She's also the most vengeful of the group, so watch your mouth around her."

"What about the other one?" Tessa asked, thinking to the other girl. She wasn't traditionally beautiful like Camille and Jessamine, but she was gorgeous. Her thin, mahogany hair reached her ribs and her mischievous watercolour green eyes were the most prominent part of her pale face. She was also the tallest in the group.

The smallest smile graced Sophie's lips. "Her?" She grinned. "Alex Hall." She shook her head. "The kindest of the group and actually tolerable, if you get around the sarcasm and sass."

"You seem to like her." Tessa noted.

She grinned. "Obviously. Her and Will had a bit of an… inconvenience involving Will throwing a water balloon filled with paint at Jessamine that missed and hit Alex. Funniest goddamn thing ever. She could have just flipped him off, but she walked straight up to him and…" She snorted. "Just told him it was on. Anyway, the week after that, Will's in a lecture when suddenly Alex slams a water bomb on his head from where she sat, directly behind him. She videoed the whole thing. It was hilarious."

Tessa grinned. "Did the professor not care?" She asked.

Sophie laughed harder. "That was the best bit. The professor laughed and told Alex she had a good aim." She smiled. "Helena told me everything. That's her, by the way." She pointed to a girl with strange but beautiful brown-green eyes, her fingers twirling her already wavy hair as she talked to the girl opposite her. "Oh, and she's talking to Calliope." Sophie added. Calliope turned, her brown eyes narrowed in confusion, before she saw Sophie and grinned. She turned back to Helena, her short auburn hair spinning with her as she did so. "Calliope's done wonders for the swim team, you wouldn't believe it." Sophie said with a grin.

Tessa looked around. "What about the people in your class?" She asked.

Sophie looked thoughtful. "Well, my class is divided. People are either nice or aren't. There's Jessamine and Tatiana and Camille in my class, annoyingly, but then I'm with Cheyenne as well. We work together, she draws the things and I make them."

"You didn't introduce us!" Came an amused voice from behind them.

Tessa and Sophie turned and located the voice. The girl was grinning, lighting up her blue eyes. Her hair was a pixie cut and boy-short (something Tessa always thought looked cool but would never try).

"Honestly Sophie, what's an introduction without the two of us?" The second asked, her dark brown eyes twinkling with amusement, her waist length hair pulled into a braid much like Katniss wears in the Hunger Games.

Sophie rolled her eyes at the two, though she was grinning. "Tessa, this is Taylor-" She gestured to the blue eyed girl, "And Danielle." She gestured to the brown eyed girl. "Both of them are taking…" she trailed off. "Music, I think?"

Danielle grinned. "Whole hour lectures with Jem Carstairs sitting in front of me. What could be better?"

Taylor rolled her eyes. "If it was Will in our class? Either that or if Bridget didn't go to this country."

Danielle's happy eyes dulled at the mention of Bridget. "Fair point."

The girls chatted with Sophie again. Tessa looked at her watch and decided to leave. Voicing this to Sophie, the girls exchanged phone numbers and Tessa went to leave.

"Wait… Tessa, right?" A voice called. Tessa turned to see a brunette girl looking at her, sitting on the table, her legs swinging slightly. The boy and the girl beside her also looked up, it appeared the three had been in a conversation.

"…Yeah?" Tessa asked, trying to put a name to the face. What was it? Ella? Emily? Emma?

The girl's green eyes crinkled slightly as she laughed. "I saw you with Will before." She grinned. "I ship you guys. If you become a couple you'll be the most famous on campus, bet you anything."

The name clicked in Tessa's mind. "I doubt it." Tessa said with a grin. "Anyway, see you later, Ellie."

Ellie gave her a friendly wink before she emerged herself in her conversation again.

Tessa kept walking, giving a backwards glance behind her when-

"Oof." Said a voice, as Tessa collided with them.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I'm such a klutz-" Tessa began.

"It's fine, really." Said the girl with a smile, pushing her curly brown hair back from her face to reveal good-natured brown eyes.

"No, honestly-" Tessa began.

"You must be Tessa." The girl cut her off.

Tessa frowned slightly. "I'm that famous?"

The girl laughed. "Well, yeah. You kind of just walked through the door with _both_ of the hottest guys on campus. Everyone knows you!"

"Oh." Was all Tessa said.

The girl grinned. "You look shocked." She noted. "But seriously, don't worry about it."

"I don't know." An American voice said from behind the girl. "I think Tatiana and Jessamine are plotting your murder."

Tessa looked around. _Alex_, she noticed.

"Hey Ania, by the way!" Alex exclaimed. Her accent bugged Tessa. It was American but it had an English accent overlapping it, like she'd been in Britain for a while. Tessa couldn't place the voice.

Ania grinned. "Hey, Alex. How's things?"

Alex rolled her eyes and went to reply.

Tessa slipped away quickly. It was four o'clock. How it was that time, Tessa didn't know, but she had to go to the shop before she went to the halls' of residents, and it was already beginning to get dark.

* * *

**R&R please!**

**Oh, more humour next chapter, and I have a big plot choice next chapter regarding the chapter after that! :O**

**See you next Monday!**


	8. Just Dance

**Following chapter is 2997 words, not counting the A/N!**

**Hai readers! I'm back! (Not that I ever left, I'm on time!) As a lot of you know, I ship Heronstairs, and, as you've probably figured out, we have implied Heronstairs in this fic. This is the most Heronstairs-ey chapter yet. Mwahaha…**

* * *

**Alex: You reviewed twice. Your most recent one, thank-you. I've been waiting to write you as a sly bitch for some time now. It's what you get for hitting someone in the stomach with a ROUNDERS BALL. THAT HURT. AND YOUR EXCUSE WAS THAT YOU THOUGHT WE WERE PLAYING DODGEBALL? REALLY? And for your first review: Écrire en anglais!**

**TheDoctorWizardHolmes: Alternate universe- IT'S ALWAYS MONDAY! Well no, but it is today. REJOICE!**

**Guest: Updating!**

**Harmonic Bunny: Thanks, it'll make it a lot easier to write you! And if you want to slap Alex (in person or in this story, I'm fine with either) I'll make it happen :)**

**Zstar1: My update day is Monday unless I'm feeling generous, but I'll never miss an update unless I'm physically unable to! (Network problems, I'm in a coma, etc)**

**Disneyinmyblood 4: THANK YOU FOR NOTICING! I always put things in for a reason, so they can be later events, and you obviously noticed that! Thank-you! (PS: it's Monday)**

**TheUltimateBookLover: It is indeed! *Also does happy dance***

**Cferrer: I guessed you liked swimming from your story! And, like I said, I needed OC's but I didn't want to invent them myself.**

**Dancerox1997: Well, it was a humour fic, but I didn't want you to die! :O**

**Fify: How's England? My favourite phrases to describe it are; wet, green and cold. And tell yourself and the girls you share a room with that you're awesome! (Unless you aren't in England anymore and aren't in touch anymore, then just call yourself awesome!)**

**Ania: I was so stressed that some people wouldn't like their characters! *Relieved sigh* And you don't need to wait any longer!**

**Guest (Taylor): Thanks, it helps a lot! And I took a guess with Will, because he seems to be more popular. And you're Canadian! Ah! Have a cookie! And some Maple Syrup! And kill Justin Bieber! (hahaha, he got arrested! Apologies if you're a fan, but I don't see how anyone could be!)**

**ShelbyHerondale: Thanks! It took a while to think of it! It was the most believable, not OOC Wessa fluff I could think of, so although it could've been better, it wouldn't really be their personalities, you know?**

**Accioswiftgames: Like said, thank-you! I really wanted it to be believable! And wait no more, the chapter is here! (Implied Heronstairs time!)**

**OK, that's it! 56 reviews, you guys are awesome! :) ONTO THE STORY!**

* * *

Tessa extracted the packet from her shopping bag.

_Instant cake mix powder- just add one egg_!

Tessa smiled, getting a bowl from the cupboard and pouring the contents of the packet into the bowl.

_This_, she thought, smirking, _will put their cooking to shame_.

* * *

Tessa had fallen asleep on the couch, and was awoken by a thumping and a "Will!"

Tessa shook her head, remembering the cake in the oven as a delightful smell reached her nose. She jumped off the sofa and walked hurriedly to the oven, grabbing her oven mitts.

Opening the oven-door carefully, she was amazed to see a golden, risen cake though the glass. She carefully opened the glass-door and grabbed the cake tin and put it quickly onto the worktop, switching off the oven.

She heard another thud. "Ooh!" A voice came, sounding breathless.

"Yes!" A one second silence, and another thud. "Yes!" The voice exclaimed, it too was breathless.

Tessa blushed. That was coming from the side of the wall that was Will and Jem's apartment, wasn't it?

She grabbed a cooling rack and cut the cake out of the tin. After putting a knife in to see if it was cooked, she put the cake onto the rack.

She grinned. She was about to prove she could cook. Admittedly yes, from a packet, but Will's dessert had been from a tin. It had also exploded. She cut herself a small slice and bit into the still-warm cake, feeling her mouth melt. "Mmm" She said to herself. That cake was good. Good enough to beat Will's exploded tin? _Yes_. Good enough to beat Jem's _heaven_ on a plate? Tessa shoved the thought to one side.

She grabbed her keys before venturing out into the hall, forgetting about what she'd heard from next door.

"Admit it." Will panted. "I'm… better at this… than you."

Tessa blushed, before telling herself she was being stupid. He could be… playing a game. She doubted it. She knocked on the door after hesitating.

Will answered the door.

A shirtless Will.

A shirtless Will with ruffled hair.

A shirtless, ruffle-haired Will who was covered in sweat.

Tessa gulped. Well then.

She couldn't help but stare at him. His defined muscles, the smooth skin, his perfect tan, his washboard stomach…

Will cleared his throat and leant against the doorframe. "Autograph line forms to the left." He told her.

Tessa immediately stopped staring, her eyes snapping to his.

"Did you want me for anything? It's just I was …busy." Will told her, a smirk forming.

Tessa opened her mouth in a small 'o' shape as her cheeks became pink.

"With Jem." He continued, his smirk getting wider.

_Ah_, Tessa thought, her cheeks now red.

"I…I can come back later…" Tessa stuttered quickly.

Will sighed, wiping his forehead. "No, you kind of killed the moment."

Tessa was now pretty sure her face resembled a tomato.

"Will? Stop teasing her, I'm pretty sure she's feeling awful by now." Jem's voice came from inside the apartment.

Will grinned, slowly raising his arm, showing a Wii remote. "I was celebrating, I'd completely _owned_ Jem. What did you think we were doing?" He asked innocently.

She heard Jem's laughter as he appeared at the door, wearing a shirt, unlike _some_.

"What were you even playing?" She asked them, quickly taking the subject away from Will's question.

Jem opened his mouth to answer but Will beat him to it. "Wii sports plus."

Jem laughed.

Tessa looked straight into Jem's eyes. "What were you playing?" She asked him.

"Ok, I lied. It was Wii sports. I just didn't want you to think we don't have any good games." Will said quickly, making Jem snort.

"We don't have any good games, that's why we're playing just dance two." Jem sighed.

Tessa laughed.

Will scowled. "I know, it's not even the most recent."

Tessa gave a sly smile. "I bet I could beat you."

Will smirked. "She lies."

Tessa looked to Jem, silently pleading with her eyes.

Jem grinned and passed her his remote.

Tessa looked at the lights on the bottom of the remote and grinned when she saw that she was the leader. "Awesome, I can choose the song."

Will scowled as Jem laughed and they went inside the room, Will throwing on his previously discarded shirt.

Tessa changed Jem's name to her own, then picked the one song she could play blindfolded.

Girlfriend, Avril Lavigne.

Will scowled at the song choice, yet positioned his remote in his hand as Tessa selected the ginger girl, leaving Will with the punk character.

Jem sat on a chair, regarding the scene with interest, hoping that Tessa would win. Will needed his ego deflating.

_Hey, hey! You, you!_

_I don't like your girlfriend_!

The golden crown was above Will's name.

This time, it was Tessa's turn to scowl.

_No way! No way!_

_I think you need a new one_!

Tessa got the crown.

_Hey! Hey! You! You!_

_ I could be your girlfriend..._

_ Hey! Hey! You! You!_

_ I know that you like me!_

…And kept it. She gave a small victory celebration, meaning that she missed the golden move. Will got it, meaning the crown was snatched from her.

_No way! No way!_

_ I know it's not a secret_

_ Hey! Hey! You! You!_

_ I want to be your girlfriend_

**_X_**

The song was almost over. By the end of the chorus, Tessa had the crown.

_In a second you'll be wrapped around my finger_

_ 'cause I can, 'cause I can do it better_

_ There's no other_

_ So when's it gonna sink in?_

_ She's so stupid_

_ What the hell were you thinking?!_

The crowns were flashing again. Tessa _was not_ having that.

_Hey! Hey! You! You!_

_ I don't like your girlfriend!_

_ No way! No way!_

_ I think you need a new one_

_ Hey! Hey! You! You!_

_ I could be your girlfriend!_

_ No way! No way!_

_ Hey! Hey! You! You!_

_ I know that you like me_

_ No way! No way!_

_ You know it's not a secret_

_ Hey! Hey! You! You!_

_ I want to be your girlfriend_

_ No way! No way!_

Tessa then did the unthinkable. She stuck out her foot and tripped Will.

_Hey! Hey!_

Tessa had the crown and had beaten Will- _just_. The clapping noise came and the scores came up. Tessa exhaled. She had beaten Will by 27 points. For Just Dance, that was a narrow gap.

"Ow." Will's voice came, muffled from the floor.

Tessa looked down at him in a pitiless way. "Oops." She said, not meaning it.

Jem burst out laughing, rising from his seat and pulling Will upright.

Will smoothed his shirt angrily. "It's not funny!

Jem curled his lips shut, before laughing again, this time with Tessa joining in.

Will simply smirked as he met Tessa's gaze. "You're disqualified. You cheated."

Jem and Tessa managed to stop laughing. "On the contrary, I think you'll find you tripped over your own feet." Jem told him.

Will opened his mouth in disbelief at Jem. "Lies!"

Tessa grinned.

"James, I'm taking English. I think I can find a pretty conclusive argument and at least twenty statements as to why you both are wrong." Will said defiantly, a definite tone in his voice.

Tessa was about to scoff, but then Will actually began to list his twenty reasons.

"Reason one. You just want revenge because I won almost every game we played this afternoon. Reason two. You think my ego needs deflating, so you're siding with Tessa. Reason three. You're bored, it's a Sunday so you don't have work, you're violin needs new strings and this event is new, contrary to the past few weeks here. Reason four-"

"You must have come here for a reason." Jem said to Tessa, cutting off Will. "What was it?"

"Not that we don't enjoy your company, but James prefers it when I don't have twenty arguments to list." Will added.

"Which he will list the moment someone isn't talking." Jem told her.

Tessa smiled. "Or eating."

"Sorry?" Will and Jem asked at the same time.

Tessa couldn't help herself. "Apology accepted."

Jem looked mildly confused at her answer, whilst Will began to laugh.

"Poor Americans, never understanding our British ways." Will said. He then grinned. "Reason five. You feel sorry for Tessa, because she's American and doesn't understand that we use the word sorry as what-"

"You were saying?" Jem said, interrupting Will.

Tessa grinned. "I made cake. I had to show Will that the things I cook don't explode in the microwave." She thought about it. "Mostly."

Jem smiled. "A microwave doesn't count as cooking."

"Yes it does!" Will and Tessa said simultaneously.

"Soup, Pot noodle, Microwave pizza-" Will began to list them all off on his fingers, Tessa nodding in agreement, before looking up suddenly. "Can you make pizza?" He asked Jem.

He looked thoughtful. "Well, it was edible last time."

"Barely." Will added.

"That's because you helped in making it." Jem defended.

Tessa unsucessfully hid a laugh and Will shot her a glare. "Let's try this _cake_ of yours, then." He said.

Tessa grinned, before stifling a laugh. She could have worse neighbours, in fact, she couldn't really have better, especially since Will was taking her subject. Jem and Will made her grin as often as her best friends did. Her best friends who she trusted with her life. Jem and Will were strangers compared to her friends in NYC. So why did she trust them the same?

"I assure you, it's edible." She told him. "I ate a slice and I haven't dropped down dead yet."

"But it can take up to 72 days for food poisoning to take effect." Jem told her, as Will elbowed him in the ribs.

"Really? _Seventy_ _two_- wait. How did you know that?" Tessa asked.

Jem pointed a long, delicate finger towards Will. "Experience." He said in a stern way.

Tessa's eyes widened as she looked at Will, who scowled.

"You're making it sound like I poisoned you." Will said, swatting away Jem's hand.

Jem grinned. "Two reasons." He explained to Tessa. "I went to medical school and I also did my research after Christmas last year."

Will rolled his eyes. "Again, it's harder to make a Christmas dinner than it is to make a _water chestnut cake_."

Jem's grin broadened. "Speaking of cake…"

Tessa and Will copied Jem's smile. It really was infectious.

"Right…" Will said, looking around. "Jem, do you have-"

Jem reached into his pocket and drew out a key. "Yes."

Will looked to Tessa. "And do _you_ have a key?" He asked.

Tessa snorted. "Yes, I-" Her hand flew to her pocket, making Will and Jem laugh. "Yeah, I do." She confirmed.

"Then let's go!" Will said, gesturing towards the door.

They stepped out into the corridor and Jem asked Will if he should bother locking the door.

Will pulled a shocked expression. "Jem…" He began. "Just dance _two_ is in there! Lock the door, get movement sensitive alarms, get CCTV, get-"

"I'll lock it." Jem said simply, cutting off Will's longwinded answer.

Will shrugged. "If you want. Don't feel pressured into having to-"

"_Will_. Should I lock the door or not?" Jem asked him, finality in his voice.

Will grinned. "Please."

Jem shook his head in an affectionate way as he locked the door.

By this time, Tessa had opened her door. "Are you coming in or not?" She asked them.

Will and Jem raised their eyebrows at her words, but went inside her apartment.

Will grinned at all the unpacked cardboard boxes strewn around the room. "Nice place. Or do you call it a 'crib'? Or I think some Americans call it a 'den'…?" He said.

Tessa, having just cut the cake, threw the knife at him. It was only a butter knife, nowhere near sharp enough to hurt him.

Tessa threw way off target, making Will laugh and Jem smile.

Tessa's eyes narrowed at them.

Jem's smile changed into a grin. "Don't worry, Tessa." He consoled her. "Will's aim is worse than that."

Will scowled.

Tessa frowned at his words and Will elaborated.

"It was in the summer last year. We were drunk-" Will began.

Jem made a displeased noise at the back of his throat.

Will grinned. "It was in the summer last year. _I_ was drunk. I saw an ad on TV for a fighting course and decided to go for it."

Tessa didn't quite know what to make of the fact Will being drunk. "Fine. That's your alibi. What about yours?" She asked Jem, who gave a small smile.

"To make sure I didn't permanently injure someone?" Will suggested.

Jem grinned. "Or William, it could have been the fact you also booked me in, because Henry said he wouldn't drive you and I had a licence."

Will looked thoughtful. "Or it could have been the fact you can't go a day without my presence."

Jem and Tessa laughed.

"Whatever makes you sleep at night." Jem said cheerily to Will, who gave a wistful sigh, giving Jem a look of longing.

Jem ignored him. Tessa suddenly grinned. Jace, Alec and Izzy knew how to fight as well. It seems that Tessa was very good at getting weapon-wielding psychopaths for friends.

"Anyway, Tessa." Will said, cutting off his debate with Jem. "The cake." He reminded her.

Tessa rolled her eyes but gestured to her couch, so Will and Jem took a seat, Jem answering his ringing phone.

"Hello? No, not at all! No, it's great! _Really_? You did? That's wonderful! You deserve him! We'll come over soon!" He ended the call and looked to Willwith a grin. "You owe me £20." He said to Will. "They finally got engaged."

"Does that mean we have to visit?" Will asked with a scowl.

"Yes." Jem said firmly.

Will slumped into the seat. "_I hate flying_." He muttered.

"Sorry, Will, what was that?" Jem asked innocently.

"Nothing!" Will said quickly. "I _love_ planes!"

Tessa rolled her eyes at the two of them.

* * *

Will had been watching Jem very closely, so the minute he bit into the cake, Will did a celebratory cheer, diving to his knees in victory.

Jem shook his head at Will, swallowing. "Am I that obvious?" He asked.

Will grinned as he sprung to his feet. "Yep." He looked to Tessa. "I'll give you the option to pick. Liar or cheat?"

Tessa said nothing, but merely fixated her glare on Will.

Will shrugged. "Fine." He turned to Jem. "Which one do you think-"

"Will. At least explain to her what you're on about." Jem told him.

Will grinned and looked to Tessa. "You used an instant cake mix powder, didn't you?"

Tessa's eyes widened slightly. Did it really taste that different to a normal cake? Will's words from the other night came flooding to her head.

_Chinese desserts are horrible, and Jem doesn't like instant cake mix._

Tessa sighed. Well damn.

"At least it didn't explode." Tessa said to him, rolling her eyes.

Jem's laughter set off everyone else.

* * *

Will ate his cake slice (and Jem's) and had deemed Tessa to be 'only human'.

"Why is that?" Jem asked Will.

"Because," Will swallowed the last mouthful, "Tessa, like every other normal student, uses instant food."

Jem grinned. "If you do not want me to cook, Will, you should have just said."

"I'm fine with you cooking-" Will began, sounding slightly worried.

Jem's grin broadened. "It's the first of December tomorrow, Will." He said simply.

Whilst the date meant nothing to Tessa, it seemed to have more of a reaction to Will, who swore.

Jem still had his grin on his face. "Starting tomorrow, I dare you to cook your own food."

Will grinned, though his teeth were slightly gritted. "Are you not scared I'll poison you?"

Jem shook his head. "I can cook for myself. And Tessa, if she's around at the time. You on the other hand…"

Will's grin slipped from his face. "I am begging you." Will said, as he threw himself to his knees.

Jem rolled his eyes. "_William Owen Herondale_, quit the theatrics. Because I am exceptionally generous, I'll let you use frozen or ready-made meals."

Will looked slightly upset. "Do you know how unhealthy they are?" He whined. "I'll have to practically live at the gym to-"

"If you can remember, you blew up our microwave." Jem concluded. "So don't worry about that. You'll just have to starve." Will looked to Tessa and Jem immediately knew what he was going to ask. "And no Will, you cannot use any appliances Tessa has, nor can she cook for you."

Will couldn't contain his shock. Tessa and Jem began laughing at his priceless expression.

"Look on the bright side." Tessa told him. "At least Jem is trained in first aid."

Her comment sent her and Jem off again. Will was not able to hide his grin.

"You can cook tonight though, right?" Will asked Jem slowly.

Jem grinned. "I'll teach you how to work the oven."

Will frowned. "Anyone can work an oven, James."

"Anyone but you." Jem cut in smoothly.

Tessa's phone began ringing.

Will bound to his feet and Jem stood with a grace Clary would kill for. "I guess that's our cue to leave." Jem said simply.

"Bye Tessa." Will said with a wink.

"Come over at around six if you want to see, and if he deems it edible, taste, the meal Will comes up with." Jem said, as they began to walk out the door.

"You said you'd cook tonight!" Will protested.

"I said I'd teach you how to work the oven." Jem corrected. Shutting the door, though you could still hear their playful banter.

Laughing at the two of them, Tessa answered her phone. "Hey Izzy!"

"Hey girl! Skype me, now. We didn't finish our conversation from last night." Izzy commanded. "And Alec has news."

Tessa laughed. She really couldn't have better friends. "Alright. Go into the kitchen, I need Jace to teach me how to cook."

"I can cook! I'll show you!" Izzy said happily.

"Err…" Tessa said slowly.

"Is there something wrong with my cooking?" Izzy asked dangerously.

"Not at all! Skype you in a few, bye!" Tessa said quickly, hanging up.

* * *

**I actually had fun writing this chapter, but it may be the Heronstairs.**

**Update about story: Not next chapter, but the chapter after, I am in love with. Not because of the Heronstairs (there isn't any), but it's basically Tessa reading the letters that eight-nine-ten year old Jem and Will sent to each other as pen-friends, and it shows how at first Will hates Jem but then warms up to him! I took a lot of inspiration from the prologue of CWprincess, and I cried with happiness and sadness from writing it!**

* * *

**Question: Sorry, I'm curious. Are Canadian people really polite or is that just a stereotype?**

**Question: SHOULD TESSA, WILL AND JEM MEET TMI CHARACTERS OR NOT?**

**Question: Are you a Wessa, Jessa, Jillessa, or Heronstairs fan? I'm just interested, it's got nothing to do with this story**!


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